p 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

Chap........ Copyright No. 

Shelf..r.L.^.& 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



^999^ 

Queries with Answers 



.UPON. 



Agricultural and Horticultural 
Subjects. 



/ 



Burnet Landreth, 



Foreign Member of the Agricultural Societies of Japan, Chile, Mexico, France, 

Horticultural of London, Society of Arts, London, 

Acclimatization of Brazil, L' Academic Royale de Suede, 

Chevalier and Offi<:ier du Merite Agricole de France. 



PUBLISHED BY 



DAVID LANDRETH & SONS, 

Seed Farmers and Merchants, 

Established J784,, ^^^^T^ 

PHILADELPHIA. ^^* '''*''^''" 



COPYRIGHT, 1895, 






Philadelphia : 
Press of MacCalla & Company Incorporated, 

237-9 DOCK street. 



^== 




<.^ 



IHESE 999 QUESTIONS 

represent only a small portion of the Queries 
Avhicli have been sent to the firm of the 
author, and which have presented them- 
selves to practical minds, dwelling upon the 
subjects of field work connected with agri- 
culture and horticulture, more particularly in the special branch 
of Vegetable Gardening. 

Among farmers and gardeners not enough thought is given 
to the why and wherefore, or cause and effect, for, as a rule, they 
go on year after year without profiting by the personal opportu- 
nities afforded them of observation, or by the results of experi- 
ments at scientific stations. Every year a new series of cultiva- 
tors, both of farm and garden, spring into existence, few of them 
profiting by, few indeed knowing anything about, the experiences 
of their predecessors. 

"With rare exceptions the young farmer and gardener does 
not take up his work from the scientific side, but strictly from 
the laborer's side ; and he begins at the bottom, meeting the same 
difficulties as did his father and too often not acquiring informa- 
tion beyond what his father possessed. 

This should not be ; agriculture should be taught in all our 
public schools of country districts, as it has been taught for years 
in Germany and Austria. It should be elevated as an art ; in 
its higher estate it already is an art. No pursuit possesses a 
greater scope for development; the field is almost unoccupied by 
leaders, scientific and practical. 

Since this Book has gone to press, many more Queries 
have been presented, and they, with others, will be compre- 
hended in a second Volume, now being prepared, to be issued a 
year hence, which will comprise over 1000 additional Queries. 

The Author asks readers to send him at once, and any time 
hereafter, additional questions that he may answer them, the 
responses subsequently to be embodied in the second volume. 



999 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

• . SELECTED FROM • • 

Landreths' Inquiry Book. 



Many of the inquiries made of the Seed Merchant by amateurs and 
practical gardeners are very difficult to answer, as they arise from the 
varied thought and experience of the inquirers, the outgrowth of 
every physical diversity of soil, climate and condition, as well as from 
the temperament and mood of the writers. 

Out of the many thousands of queries made of us there may be 
selected a few from our Inquiry Book which it may be practical to 
repeat, with the responses made, as they may meet a need for similar 
information for some of the readers of this volume. They might be 
better grouped or classified, but are printed just as they have been 
recorded. 

Readers of this book may not in all things agree with the answers 
made ; that is their privilege, as many queries are subject to different 
interpretations. The book is not published for the scientific, nor for 
those who already know it all before they read it. 

1. Query. What is the dlstinctioa between a fruit and a vegetable? Fruit or 
Answer. In a physiological sense a fruit is borne upon a flower stem vegetable. 

and is a growth following the development of a flower, and, except under 
abortive conditions or failing of pollination, containing within itself or 
upon itself the seeds for the perpetuation of its species. Perhaps, to meet 
a popular understanding, a ready definition of a fruit might be an edible 
growth upon a tree or bush, containing seeds and having a sweet or sour 
flavor. 

2. Q. If a fruit is a consequential development of inflorescence and con- Nuts. 
tains a seed, is a nut a fruit ? 

A. A nut or hard-shelled seed, if contained within a pulpy envelope, 
is, with its covering, a fruit under the previous definition ; but under the 
usual understanding a fruit must be an accumulation of soft, pulpy 
tissue. Some nuts — as the cocoanut, the walnut and the hickory — are 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



GrAins. 



Culinary 
Veijetubles. 



Bulbs. 



Tubers. 



OOsets. 



Sroccoli. 



Cow Pea. 



Wheat. 



enclosed in a thick tissue of growth, but the enveloping material is unpal- 
atable and indigestible. la the case of nut-bearing plants of habits fixed 
through original conditions or through selection based upon hereditary 
development, the seed or nut is developed at the expense of the surround- 
ing tissue. 

3. Q. What is a grain ? 

A. A grain is a seed suitable for use by man for grinding or crushing to 
meal for cattle feeding or human food. 

4. Q. What is a culinary vegetable? 

A. It is a plant producing, above or below ground, a development of 
edible tissue, as the bulb of a turnip, the enlarged stalk of a kohl rabi, 
the head of a cabbage, or the half-abortive or abnormally developed buds 
of the cauliflower. A culinary vegetable generally requires cooking to 
fit it for human food, but not always, as exampled in the radish, lettuce, 
cress. A culinary vegetable in the exact sense cannot contain seeds, as 
it is a product developed previous to inflorescence. 

5. Q. What is a bulb ? 

A. It is an underground bud containing within itself a capacity for 
reproducing its kind. It is generally globular in form and is composed 
of scales or coats, one within another, familiar examples being the onion 
and hyacinth, 

6. Q. What is a tuber ? 

A. A tuber is a solid, fleshy development from a root and containing 
buds or eyes capable of producing its like ; a familiar example of the 
tuber being the potato? 

7. Q. What are ofisets ? 

A. They are young bulbs or bulblets formed on the sides of old bulbs. 
These broken off produce full-sized buds. 

8. Q. What is the distinction between broccoli and cauliflower? 

A. Broccoli usually has a taller stem than cauliflower, leaves narrower 
and sti3"er, generally undulating, ribs broad and leaf stalks long ; the 
texture of the heads not so fine nor so white as cauliflower ; the flower 
head of a stronger cabbage taste. Broccoli has an advantage over cauli- 
flower in greater hardiness. It is less rapid in growth, and generally the 
plants are carried over Winter to develop in early Spring. Broccoli 
should be better known and more largely cultivated in the northern sec- 
tions of the Union. 

9. Q. Is a Southern cow pea, a pea or a bean ? 

A. It is a bean ; the outward and unscientific distinction between 
peas and beans being that, as a rule, beans have fleshy edible pods, dis- 
tinctly marked eyes, smooth surface and of a far greater variation of color 
than peas. 

10. Q. Have bearded wheats any advantage over beardless sorts? 

A. Bearded wheats possess a higher percentage of gluten than beard- 
less variety, and as gluten is tiie essentially nutritive element, its percent- 
age is a most important matter. The people of new wheat countries, as 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 3 

our Northwestern States, the new lands of the La Platte and Australia, 
are generally tall and muscular, which physical condition is attributed to 
the richer glutenous wheat grown on new lands. 

11. Q. What advantage is there in the growing of early wheats over Wheat. 
late wheats ? 

A. Early wheats are desirable as their habit more quickly removes 
them from the danger of red rust. 

12. Q. What is pollen ? Pollen. 
A. It is the fertilizing agent of plants, consisting of a yellow powder 

formed of cells of from ^Jj to j-^^^ of an inch in diameter, each containing 
minute granules from yj'jj^ to j-^^-jj-^j of an inch in diameter. These minute 
granules produced by the stamens must be brought in contact with the 
pistil, and one or more pass into and through it till it reaches the base of 
the pistil. The pollen reaches the pistil by various means, as by the vio- 
lent bursting of the stamens, by currents of air and by insects. The 
length of time over which the pollen of ordinary plants retains its vitality 
varies from a tew hours to many days, with a number of plants for many 
months, and with a few plants for many years. The quantity of pollen 
produced is enormous, the sulphur showers from pine forests consisting 
of pollen. Some plants producing 250,000 grains to the single flower. 

13. Q. What vegetables will mix, if planted in proximity? Hybridiza- 
A. Only those of the same family, as for example, beans with beans. 

It is impossible to mix beans with peas, or squashes with tomatoes. Some 
vegetables looked upon as distinct, as for example, watermelon, can- 
taloupe, squashes, cucumber, pumpkin and gourds, are all of one family, 
and will mix one with the other. 

14. Q. Will round-podded peas stand more cold, wet weather than Peas. 
wrinkled peas ? 

A. Yes. Wrinkled peas, which are soft, are seldom ripened with the 
same completeness as round peas, which are hard, and they are more 
likely to decay under the same soil conditions — decomposition setting in 
earlier — in fact, they have less vitality and less physical vigor. 

15. Q. What is a gourd ? Gourd. 
A. Scientifically, it may be defined as a member of that family from 

which has sprung all the varieties of squashes and pumpkins, which 
edible fruits are yet comprised in the same general classification with 
many which are unedible. The edible varieties are those botanically 
indicated as maxima, mochata and pepo ; the first having stalks round, 
without furrows, and with foliage large, broad, kidney-shaped, and 
covered wiih hairs ; examples, Valparaiso, Hubbard, Mammoth. The 
second with stalks slightly furrowed, swollen where they join the fruit, 
leaves lobed or angular, deeply indented and bloated with air bubbles, 
seeds hairy and covered with a silvery membrane ; examples, Canada 
Crookneck, Yokohama. The third with stalks slender, fruit stems five- 
s«ided and becoming woody, foliage deeply indented and hairy ; examples, 
White Bush, Vegetable Marrow, Cococella, Tours. The unedible varie- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Potatoes. 



Sweet Potato. 



Wild 
Potatoes. 



Potatoes 
from the true 
seed. 



Potatoes, Size 
for Planting. 



Cutting; 
Potatoes. 



Potato Skins. 



Bermudas. 



Potato Seed. 



ties to whicli custom attaches the name of gourd have a hard, woody, dry 
shell and a flavor so bitter as to render them unedible. 

16. Q. Is the Irish potato a native of Ireland ? 

A. No ! It is a native American, improperly called Irish because the 
Irish people cultivated it to such an extent at one time as to be the prin- 
cipal article of food. No American should call it Irish. Its true name 
is the potato.simply the potato, be it white, yellow or red, round or oblong. 

The sweet potato is not a potato at all ; it is called so through an errone- 
ous custom. 

17. Q. If the sweet potato is not a potato, what is it ? 

A. It belongs to the same race or family as the yam, which family is 
not native to America, but is found in Africa and India. 

18. Q. Can good potatoes be developed from the wild sorts of Arizona 
and Mexico? 

A. Yes, the writer developed several fine sorts after four years' culture 
and selection, unfortunately losing them by frost during winter. 

19. Q. How long will it take to develop edible-sized potatoes from the 
seed ball ? 

A. About three years. Of course it is all a speculation, for nineteen 
out of twenty of the seedlings are inferior to present standard sorts, 
those of good form and quality being like prizes in a lottery ; but when 
they are good they often pay handsomely. 

20. Q. Which size seed potatoes produce best results all things consid- 
ered ? 

A. Medium size cut into halves. 

21. Q. If my potatoes for planting are all large size, how small should 
I cut them ? 

A. None smaller than a black walnut. 

23. Q. Why are the skins of my potatoes eaten and scaly ? 

A. Sometimes from worms, which lime will drive off. Sometimes from 
excessive moisture bursting the skins, which nature attempting to repair 
results in scales. 

23. Q. Why are Bermuda potatoes always smooth skinned? 

A. Because grown on coral or lime soil, and because largely fertilized 
with sea weed, the salt and lime both being obnoxious to insects. 

The potato, as ordinarily propagated, is not grown from the seed, but 
from the tuber, a cutting of which resembles a graft or bud from a tree, 
and perpetuates the good or bad qualities of the parent. The true seed, 
which is borne in a seed-pod following the blossom, is very seldom seen, 
is very difficult to gather, and consequently is very expensive. In ap- 
pearance resembles a tomato seed of about one-tenth development ; the 
potato belonging to the tomato family. The seed germinates very easily, 
and the plants can be cultivated by any one, producing tubers the first 
year about the size of buckshot ; tliese, planted the second year, double in 
bulk, and after about three or four years, become of edible size. As en- 
tirely new sorts are thus produced, the cultivation is very interesting and 
often profitable. Per pkt. 30c. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 5 

We here record our protest against the expression " Irish potatoes " as 
applied to any of the many forms of round or kidney potatoes, the plant 
being a native American, found growing wild from Arizona to Chili. 

New varieties of potatoes are alone derived from the true seed, which is 
obtained from the seed balls ; these seed balls are generally borne upon 
late varieties. The development of new varieties of valuable qualities is 
tiresome and disappointing, as often ten years of labor may not bring a 
single truly valuable sort. It is, however, a matter of chance, and the 
first experiment may develop a novelty of the highest merit. 

24. Q. What is the product of cucumbers? Cucumbers. 
A. For early use plant in hills 4x4 feet, on a warm border, when the 

cherry is in bloom, and for a succession sow in drills at five feet, when the 
apple is in bloom. For pickles plant middle of Summer. 

In Florida and other Southern States, a fair average production per 
acre of slicing cucumbers is two hundred crates, 8 x 1-1 x 20 inches. Some 
growers claim average crops of 400 and 500 — even 800 crates have been 
recorded, but these large yields are only occasionally heard of 

Fresh Southern cucumbersappear in Philadelphia the last of November, 
and command $1 to $2 per dozen. Towards Christmas the price rises to 
$2.50 per dozen, after which the price declines to $4 or $5 per box of 
eighty-five to ninety fruit. By last of May the price goes down to $1 
per dozen, after which shipments are unprofitable. As a rule the early 
cucumbers from New Orleans bring better prices than those from Florida, 
being better sorted and better packed. 

A good crop of cucumbers, when gathered of pickling size, produces 
from 100 to 175 bushels to the acre. A bushel contains about 800 
pickles. Some cultivators have claimed to produce over 100,000 pickles 
to the acre. The pickles should be slipped from the vine by the thumb 
and finger without raising or disturbing the vine. The pickle houses 
generally pay the farmers forty to fifty cents per bushel, they in turn sell 
them at from twenty to thirty cents per 100. 

Pickles properly prepared will keep five or six years. The method of 
salting pickles, as pursued in New Jersey, is as follows : To a cask of 120 
gallons capacity, take four quarts of salt and mix in two gallons of water. 
Place the solution in the bottom of the cask and put in the green pickles 
after washing. To each two bushels of pickles put into the cask add four 
quarts of Salt, and continue until cask is full. Place the head of the cask, 
with edges trimmed off to permit of a rise and fall, on the top of the 
pickles, and on the top of the head or lid place a weight of twenty or 
twenty-five pounds. If there should be any leakage of the liquor, replace 
it by a solution of four quarts of salt to two gallons of water, keeping all 
the pickles submerged. Salt should not be stinted. Pickle packers make 
three sizes before pickling — large, medium and small. 

25. Q. What is the form of a Long Green Turkey cucumber? Turkey 

A. A Long Green Turkey cucumber is long, three square and at the stem Cucumbers, 
end of a reduced diameter, the seed being found principally in the blossom 



6 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



'ickles. 



Cucumber 
Hug. 



White Spine 
CiicMiuiber. 



Slicing. 
Fruiting. 



Cucumber 
Crops. 



Greenhou<4e 
Cucumber. 



end. la an ordinary " Long Green " the diameter is about the same 
throughout its length, and tl»e seed found throughout a larger portion of 
the fruit. The Long Green Turkey is a light producer of seed, and conse- 
quently the seed is higher priced than other field varieties 

26. Q. Which variety of cucumber will produce the most small fruits 
for pickling? 

A. The Short Prolifie and the Jersey pickle for commercial sales, but 
for domestic use the Long Green Turkey furnishes the best formed pickles. 

27. Q. How shall I secure myself against the attacks of the cucumber 
or squash bug? 

A. Start the plants in the house or under glass, the seeds planted in 
square pieces of sod for readiness of removal to the field when the leaves 
become half developed. 

28. Q. What is a good White Spine cucumber? 

A. It is a leading sort both in the private and market garden, appreci- 
ated by reason of its strong healthy habit of vine and consequent produc- 
tiveness, of deep green symmetrical fruit. If of a good strain the fruits are 
in length four or five times their diameter, and nearly of the same diameter 
throughout their entire length, slightly three-sided and dotted with small 
warts, from each of which springs an ivory-white thorn or spine, giving 
the name of White Spine to the variety. With a few exceptions other 
cucumbers bear brown or black spines. 

From the extreme or blossom end of the white spine ten light-colored 
lines run towards the stem end, these lines as the fruit becomes larger turn 
bone white, sometimes a yellow white, and after the fruit becomes too old 
for shipment the entire fruit becomes a bone white, tinged with a light 
golden. 

As a shipping variety the White Spine is highly prized, as it so long 
retains its green color, which, when it does change, alters not to a yellow, 
but to a less objectionable white. 

29. Q. Which varieties of cucumber are the best for slicing? 
A. White Spine, Early Frame and Long Green 

30. Q. Why do some varieties of cucumbers produce more fruit than 
others ? 

A. Because of a more perfect formation of flowers, and a more profuse 
distribution of pollen. 

31. Q. Why do vine crops as cucumber and melons produce larger 
crops after a dry summer than after a wet one? 

A. Because during the flowering period throughout a dry summer the 
pollen is freely carried from the male flowers by winds and insects to the 
female flowers, but during a wet season the pollen being made heavy by 
moisture it remains on the male flowers where it originates. 

32. Q. In what way do English hothouse cucumbers diff"er from the 
usual American outdoor sorts ? 

A. The forcing house varieties, as Rabley, Marquis of Lome. Telegraph, 
are all more than twice as long as the longest field varieties, sometimes 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 7 

four times as long. They contain very few seeds, and are quite free from 
that property which to some people is so poisonous. 

33. Q. How should I plant cantaloupes? Cantaloupes. 
Cantaloupes or citron melons, as they are termed in Jersey, do well 

upon sod ground or upon land prepared for planting Ijy plowing down a 
crop of winter wheat or winter rye, the sod or grass aerating or keeping 
loose the soil. 

The seed is planted at about corn-seeding time or when the apple is in 
bloom, in hills about four and a half feet in each direction. Two sliovels- 
ful of well-rotted stable manure being trampled into each hill and covered 
with earth. The large long melons, like the Reedland Giant and Cusaba, 
are generally sold by the hundred ; melons of the ordinary form and size 
are sold by the basket of one-half to five-eighths bushel capacity. Phila- 
delphia commission merchants pay as a highest price $1.50 to $2.00 per 
bushel. As an average price forty to fifty cents per bushel. Cantaloupe 
melons are frequently a drug in the market. 

34. Q. Why do some people use the word musk melon (corrupted to Alask Melon. 
mush melon) cantaloupe, nutmeg and citron, as applied to the same fam- 
ily of vine fruits? 

A. (1). Musk melons as originally known were long, large-fruited, 
smooth-skinned, soft-fleshed, very aromatic and often of a sickening 
sweetness. 

(2). Cantaloupes as at first distinguished were large, rough and irreg- 
ular in form, often deeply ribbed and covered more or less with warts, the 
skin sometimes slightly netted, and at other times entirely without net- 
ting. Cantaloupes like musk melons are frequently inclined to crack at 
the ends. 

(3). Citron melons are of a later introduction. In form, they vary from 
flat and round to ovoid, slightly ribbed, generally netted, the flesh per- 
fumed, the seed small. 

The term nutmeg was originally applied to citron melons of oval form Nutmeg. 
slightly larger at one end tlian the other, like the nutmeg of commerce. 
Among the New Jersey market gardeners tlie expression, cantaloupe or 
musk melon, is never used. They always speak of citrons. 

35. Q. When should I plant watermelon seed ? Seeding. 
A. When the black Walnut is in one-inch leaf, plant melons. 

36. Q. How sliould I plant watermelons? Watermelons 
A. Watermelons do well upon sod ground or upon laud prepared for their 

reception by plowing down a crop of winter wheat or winter rye, the sod 
or grain aerating or keeping loose the soil. When the apple is in bloom 
the seed is planted in hills at ten feet apart in each direction. Two large 
shovelfuls of well-rotted stable manure dug and trampled into each hill 
and covered with earth. 

The cultivator should be prepared with quite four pounds of seed to the 
acre, that he may have a reserve lor replanting in case of destruction of 
his plants by insect depredations or beating rains. 



8 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

Ono vine alone to the hill shoukl be allowed to attain perfection ; -with 
four luHulrod aud tifty hills to the acre, there should be nine hundred first- 
class melons. 

Philadelphia commission merchants pay for prime melons, as a highest 
price, forty dollars ($10.00) per hundred. As an average price, ten dol- 
lars (§10.00) per hundred. They cease to be profitable to the trucker 
when bringing less than four dollars ($4.00) per hundred. First-class 
melons are always in demand, but the market is frequently overstocked 
with small fruit. 

Much of the melon seed ofTered throughout the country is tiie product 
of immature and deformed melons remaining in the field after all the 
choice fruit has been selected. 
Watorinelon. 37. Q. What constitutes a good watermelon ? 

A. If for shipping to market the requirements seem to be to obtain from 
the acre the greatest number of mammoth melons of good carrying quality, 
little regard being paid to texture of flesh, depth of color, or flavor, so that 
the flesh is solid and red. A familiar example of a favorite shipping 
watermelon of only third-class quality is the Kolb Gem. 

If for private or family use, the mammoth melons are not desirable, the 
requirements then being for those of fair weight, twenty to thirty pounds, 
flesh solid fro;u centre to rind, the unedible portion being not more than 
one half inch thick ; color of flesh red, flavor sugary aud texture so granu- 
lated or crystalline as to melt away like ice upon the tongue. A melon 
producing fruit of fibrous sponge-like nature, no matter what its other 
qualities may be, cannot be a first class melon. 

The Long Light Icing, the Round Icing, Arkansas Traveler and the Boss 
are decidedly the best for the private garden. 
Arknimas The Arkansas Traveler and the Boss, both because of good size, of a dark 

and healthy deep green rind, of good carrying quality, having a rind like wood, 

The Boss while inside no others are so solid, so entirely edible, so deeply red, so 
a erin on. crystalline in flesh, and altogether so excellent in quality, are recognized 
as the best of all melons when grown on soils strong enough to properly 
develop their variety. 
Points of a !^^8. Q. "What constitutes a good citron melon or cantaloupe ? 
good citron A. A good citron must in the first place produce a hardy vine without 
Melon. which healthy fruit cannot be expected. The fruit in size may be small 

like the Jenny Lind, medium like the Acme, or mammoth like the Reedland 
Giant, Black Paris, or White French, but whatever its color, orange, sal- 
mon, or green, it should be thick fleshed, juicy, sweet, melting and leaving 
an agreeable flavor upon tlie palate. Some melons, apparently of good 
flavor at first, prove after eating to be distasteful. For market purposes no 
citron surpasses the Annie Arundel for productiveness, for good outside 
appearances, and for edible qualities. 
Foreign 3'.>. Q. Can sccds of foreign citrons be distinguished from seeds of Amcri- 

Cautaloupcs. can-grown citrons? 

A. Yes the seeds of foreign sorts are inclined to turn up at one end, 
like a sled, are generally larger aud nearly always more yellow. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 9 

40. Q. To save my Citron or Cantaloupes from thieves can I ripen them Ripening cit- 

in the house ? 

A. Yes ; often better than in the field. Pull them when fully grown, 
wash them, dry them, and place them on shelves in a dry, warm room ; 
soon an aroma will fill the room superior to that ever before noticed in the 
field. 

41. Q. Why is it that my Montreal citrons, grown in Pennsylvania, do Flavor of 
not have the same flavor as those grown in Canada? Melons. 

A. Because of the distinct conditions of growth. At ]yiontreal the seed 
is sown in hotbeds, 20th to, 30th of March. When the plants develop a 
rough leaf they are potted and three or four times pinched back till about 
the middle of May, when they are set out in specially prepared hotbeds, 
three (3j plants to a sash. The glass is kept on till the vines fill the 
entire bed, when both the sash and frame are removed. Very little water 
is required, and when applied it is done without a rose, as it has been 
found injurious to wet the leaves. 
43. Q. What is the merit of the netting or webbing on citron melons? Netting on 
A. Strong webbing preserves a melon from the disfiguring effects of Citrous, 
abrasion, thus fitting it to withstand transportation better than the melons 
with smooth skins or only partial webbing. A strong netting often indi- 
cates a good flavor, but it is not the rule, for some foreign smooth- 
skinned melons are hard to excel. 

43. Q. Shall I shorten the long shoots of my watermelon vines? Pinching 
A. Yes ; pinch them back, cut them early before they get long. iia« k. 

44. Q. Why do the full-grown vines of my watermelons, squashes, nieion Bug. 
and citrons get yellow and die ofi ? 

A. From injury by worms produced from the eggs of the squash bug 
which earlier in the season ate tlie young seedlings. 

45. Q. How should an Orange watermelon be cut to the best effect ? Orange 

A. About an inch from each end slice off a slab so as to produce a flat w^^t^^ine on. 
surface and set the melon on end. With a knife, held so that one 
inch of the blade only can penetrate the rind, cut down the rind perpen- 
dicularly in lines one inch apart from top to bottom and pull it off, leav- 
ing standing the red flesh of the interior. 

46. Q. What are tbe rules for determining when a watermelon is ripe? picking 
A. When a watermelon is ripe it has lost to a slight degree its lively Melons. 

green tint, appearing a little dull in color. At the stem end the curled 
wiry tendril has become quite dead. On the earth side the melon is well 
bleached and has become hard and woody. 

The expert watermelon picker, however, is not guided by these out- 
ward signs, but relies upon the sound emitted from the melon when 
gently thumped with the back of the nail of thumb or fingers. A green, 
unripe melon responding with sonorous noise, while a ripe one, because 
of the spongy nature of the interior, sounds dull and heavy. Practice 
will soon make clear the diflerence in sound. 



10 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



RitdiNh. 



Tomatoes. 



47. Q. Why do my radish roots become rough and scaly ? 
A. Want of lime to drive oiY worms and grubs. 

48. Q. IIow and when should Tomato seed be planted? 
A. When the apple Is In bloom sow In hills three feet apart, on a warm 

border, early in the Spring. For a later supply, sow a short time after- 
wards in a more open situation. As the plants advance in growth sup- 
port them by brushwood. To have the tomato very early it is necessary 
to start the plants in a hotbed, or they may be reared in a flowerpot in a 
■window and subsequently transplanted. 

Plants for an early crop should be raised under glass. For intermedi- 
ate crop they may be raised on outside beds. For late crops the seed may 
be planted in permanent position when the apple is in bloom. The aver- 
age production of fruit per acre on cultivated and fertilized land is about 
14,000 pounds, or say 250 bushels per acre, though 18,000 or 20,000 
pounds have been raised. 

Southern Florida tomatoes reach Philadelphia in February, and com- 
mand $4 to $6 per bushel. By April the rate declines to $8 to $5, and 
continues to decline till June, after which they fail to meet the cost of 
transportation. Forty to eighty cents per bushel is an average price, 
twenty-flve to thirty-five cents per bushel for late crops. This crop ceases 
to be profitable to the trucker unless he can realize sixteen cents per 
bushel. They are very often a drug in the market. Tomato canning 
houses buy the fruit by the ton at from $G to $7. For seed purposes alone 
we have washed out over 40,000 bushels of fruit in a single season. 

49. Q. Why is it that the rough-fruited tomatoes, Early Jersey and 
Richmond, are largely grovn ? 

A. Because of their double qualities of earliness and resistance against 
tnvnsportation Injuries. 

By their earliness they are often more profitable than far better sorts 
subsequently put Into market, and by reason of their hollow cells they 
will stand almost any amount of rough usage without bursting. 

50. Q. Why do my tomatoes fail to produce either blossom or fruit ? 
A. Possibly by reason of the land being too richly manured or too 

much shaded. 
Tomato Rot. 51. Q. Why do my tomatoes rot? 

A. Possibly because of a fungus growth for which no positive remedy 
has been discovered. Some varieties are especially susceptible to it. 

53. Q. Describe the difference between varieties of spinach ? 

A. The Bloomsdale is the earliest to develop plants of cutting size. Its 
leaves are entirely savoyed or bloated and it is accordingly the most 
elastic, bearing transportation better than any other sort. It is quite erect 
in habit, and in Spring shoots the earliest to seed. It is most valuable as 
an Autumn variety, being hardier than other sorts. The seed is round. 

Prickly spinach has thorny seeds and is the second to develop to mar- 
ket size. The leaves are quite erect and elastic, somewhat similar to 



Koiigh Sorts. 



Unfrnltful 
Vine. 



Spinach. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 11 

Bloomsdale It is an excellent variety. The seed is thorny, hence its 
name. 

Ever Ready is the darkest colored of all spinaches and slowest to shoot 
to seed ; it is the best of the Long Standing sorts. 

Flanders is the largest seeded of all the varieties. Leaves, spear- 
shaped, on long, erect stems ; it can thus be gathered generally free 
from sand ; it is the third in order of maturity. Round Savoy is 
round seeded and round leaved, habit of growth not as erect as Blooms- 
dale, and not so much savoyed, the fourth in order of development to 
cutting size. 

Viroflay, a mammoth-leaved variety, very showy, the fifth in order of 
maturity. Long Standing, the latest of all spinach to arrive at a cut- 
ting stage ; leaves round on the edges, exceedingly deep green, leathery, 
inclined to lay flat on the earth, slow to shoot to seed, hence its name. 

53. Q. When should cabbage seed be sown V Cabbage. 

A. Tliere is not a month in the year nor a day in the month when cab- 
bage is not being sown in some of the gardening sections of the country. 
It is therefore impossible to name periods (or sowing. That must be de- 
termined by the practice of each section. In a general way, however, it 
may be said that cabbage seed should be sown in February for an early 
Summer crop, and April or May for an Autumn crop, and in September 
and October for an early Spring crop. The seed is sown in rows of a 
foot apart, and after the plants reach a height of three or four inches they 
are pulled up and transplanted to permanent locations, where they are set 
in rows at tliree or four feet and at intervals of one-and a-half to two feet 
in the row. 

The question is of frequent occurrence : Why cannot private families 
have head cabbage as early as jriirket gardeners? Simply because of 
imperfect culture and insufBcieut manuring. To produce a successful 
crop of cabbage the soil must naturally or artificially contain potash, 
phosphate, nitrogen. These are all found in good barnyard manure and 
in some commercial fertilizers. If these resources are not available, the 
potash can be had in kainit, the phosphoric acid in bone, or better, in 
superphosphate ; the nitrogen in dried blood, meat or fish. 

The market gardener feeds his cabbage crop without stint and with 
the rankest food, frequently plows in the manure in the Autumn, turns it 
up in the Spring and thoroughly incorporates it with the soil ; plants 
early, cultivates deeply, not simply tickling the surface with the hand- 
hoe, but uses the plow and horse-hoe ; that cannot always be done in 
small family gardens, but the tpade can be used, and tiiat is the next best 
thing. Use it freely, dig deeply, and the result will surprise those who 
have heretofore relied on the hoe alone. 

Cabbages grown South for shipment in the Spring sometimes do not 
head uniformly, the result of checking by cold. The damage very fre- 
quently is not apparent till the heading season, when the crop appears to 
be a mixture of many sorts, some plants shooting to seed ; fields of dlfter- 



12 QUKR1K9 AXn ANSWERS, 

out iiixos luul ililVoront soil produciiisc viirylug results. We recomnuMul 
tlmt nil t'nliro crop shouUl not he plnntod sit onco, but sol out Jit intorvals 
of ton diiys. Cabbfipoa o\\ hojivy hiinnnook hxnd iiro more injured by cold 
Ihiiu on lighter soil. 

Vnder good oondiliona svnd niiinagemont about eighty per cent, of tho 
plants in a oabbiigo field should, on an avorago, produce marketable 
heads, (hough sometiniea ninety-live per cent, have been marketed. Mar- 
ket gardeners in Philadelphia, on an average, realize a not pnitit of about 
one eent per liead. The piekle houses pay about $S per ton delivered at 
their taetories. 
Otiib Hoot. 54. Q. What is the eauso of eUib root in my cabbage ? 

A. A fungus growth superimlueed by rank manure or by coustaully 
cropping the same land in cabbage. 
Ci«i>i>!im«. <'>'''• Q.' Why do only half my cabbage produce good heads? 

.v. Not planted early enough. Given time all cabbages will head, 
unless mongrel sorts. 
w.ik.<ti.ia «'>t»- Q. What are tho qualities going to constitute a good Wakefield 

i'!»i>i)i»i;o. cabbage? 

A. The head should be an obtuse or blunt-pointed cone, much the 
greatest diameter at the base. The leaves should extend up and above 
the apex of the head, to atVord length for a perfect folding over and solid 
formation. The leaves shi>uld be close set, smooth, broad, oven edged, 
and dark and leathery, and the leal stem should bo leathered to the joint. 
Tho dark leathery quality of the leaves Is iudicativo of hardmess. 

Tho stalk of a well-grown plant should be short, so that the head 
appears to almost rest upon the earth. 

Early maturity and mammoth si/.e are not found united in Wakellelds 
any more than in ai\y other plants. 
SuiniiuT 57. Q. What constitutes a good Summer cabbage? 

C<«i>bit4;«>. A. Heads half or three quarters flat, the stems short, heads broad, deep 

and solid, leaves spoon-formed, color blue-green with marrow-like veins 
and completely crossing each other as they told down over the head, 
which in the centre should be slightly rounded. 
I^toC>ibi)i«n«' 58. Q. What are the qualities constituting a good Late Flat Dutch 
cabbage? 

A. This variety must be of a vigorous habit to develop the siz-o most 
desired, the leaves must be broad, of a metallic blue green color, slightly 
fluted on tho edge and t\>lding clear over the centre of the head, which 
should bo broad, deep and flat. The color of the leaves olten indicates tho 
orvler of maturity, the light-green plants being early, the deepest blue 
being late. There are probably a dozen forms of Late Flat Dutch, known 
by as many names — all cannot bo the best, although some may be called 
PriMuium, others Matchless. t)thers Superb. 
CabbHgo for 59. Q. Which IS the best cabbage for late Autumn planting in the 
tho South. Southern States for Spring markets? 

A. Tho varieties best adapted are those of leathery leaves and dark- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 13 

colored foliage, as auch are the hardiest. Among them may be named, 

Select Early Jerwcy Wakefield, Early Market, liloornsdale Early Dwarf 
Flat Dutch. The succchs attained depends however much upon the 
period of sowing the seed, the time of setting out, the condition 
(»f the plants as set out, and the condition of the Winter, as some- 
times the influence of fluctuations in temperatures develop an abnormal 
tendency in plants to shoot to seed. It is a safe plan to sow seed and to 
set out plants at different periods. 

60. Q, Why do not cabbage head ? Cabbaj?« 
A. Any pafisably fair stock of cahbage will always liead if grown under '**^'* "*»' 

proper conditions as respects period of planting, period of setting out, fer- 
tility of soil, and ciillure. Tiie stock may be of many varieties, early and 
late, flat and round, smooth and savoyed, but they will all form some sort 
of heads if given time, provided they be not ciiecked by some soil a;ndi- 
tion, Collards or kale will not head, nor hybrids of the same, nor mongrel 
stocks of cabbage. 

61. Q. How should peas be sown ? PeaH. 
A. Peas are among the first seeds that may be sown at close of Winter, 

frequently being planted before sharp frosts are fully over. The drilling 
of peas may be safely commenced when the peach is in bloom and con- 
tinued at intervals up to within «ixty days of frost for the early kinds, or 
seventy days for the intermediate varieties, or eighty days for the later 
sorts. Late sown peas are never as productive as those sown in the Spring, 
and often are found to be subject to mildew. Landrelhs' Extra Early will 
be found to be the best for August and September sowings, because of its 
early ripening habit and its ability to resist mildew. The dwarf varieties 
may be drilled at two feet if cultivated by horse power, or fifteen inches 
if to be hoed by hand. The varieties of medium length should be drilled 
not closer than three feet, and the tall-growing sons at five feet apart. 
The number of peas in a row may vary from ten to the foot in the case of 
the very dwarf kinds, to eight to the foot of the medium tall varieties, and 
six to the foot of the very tall kinds. Yield 100 to 'iOO bushels. At Phil- 
adelphia the highest average price paid by cr>mmisHion merchants for 
early peas is from $:iOO to $4.00 per bushel, and the highest price paid for 
late varieties is $1.50 to $2.00 per bushel, while the price sometimes is as 
low as fifty U) thirty cents per bushel. Early peas are not grown profit- 
ably at less than fifty cents per bushel, nor late peas at less than forty 
cents per bushel. The pea thrives best in light, loamy soil ; the early and 
dwarf sorts demand rich ground. 

02. Q. Does the boring of peas and beans by the weevil afTect the ger- Pea Weevil. 
mination of the seed? 

A. There will be a failure to sprout if the grub of the weevil devours the 
germ, but if the germ, is not eaten the seed will sprout. 

Under favorable conditions of soil, moisture and heat, bug-eaten peas 
and beans, when the germ is not destroyed, will do about as well as un- 
injured seed, but under unfavorable conditions, when the young plant 



14 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Sowing Peas. 



Beans. 



Soil 
Covering. 



BeaiiH, form 
of FoUs. 



Planting 
Lima Beans. 

Distance. 



Benn, 
Muiiners. 



Runners. 



Bean Rust. 



depends largely for its support upon the store of food laid upon the seed, 
any reduction in this store of food tends to make the plant weak and 
puny. 

63. Q. Wlien sowing peas in rows, how many seeds should be placed 
to the foot ? 

A. It is bad policy to save seed at the possible risk of a crop, for insects 
or excessive rainfall or no rain whatever may prevent the development 
of healthy plants. It is best to sow four seeds to the inch. The growing 
plants to be afterward pulled out or cut out to two plants to the inch. 

64. Q, What is the proper time to plant garden beans ? 

A. Sow when the apple is in bloom, and repeat as frequently as neces- 
sary till within fifty days of frost. In field culture sow in drills at two 
and a half feet apart. In garden culture, when the cultivating is done 
by hand, the rows may be at eighteen inches. Tiie seed should be sown 
in such quantity as under ordinary circumstances to warrant one bean 
vine to every four inches. If closer than this their production will be im- 
paired. On strong soil they do best at a greater distance. Yield about 
75 to 80 bushels. Florida and Mobile beans reach Philadelphia from 
November till March ; those shipments in January command from $5 to $7 
per crate. Round-podded varieties are most in demand. Beans gener- 
ally sell well, but by first of April decline to $3 to $5 per crate, and sub- 
sequently fall lower by reason of injury in transportation. 

65. Q. How deep should seeds be covered ? 

A, As a rule seeds should not be covered over four (4) times their 
diameter, and when the soil is heavy seldom to that depth. 

60. Q. What is the advantage of a round or cylindrical-podded bean 
over a flat-podded variety ? 

A. The round is always more brittle, less stringy, and contains more 
flesh under the same amount of cuticle. 

67. Q. IIow shall I plant my Lima beans, on side or flat, eyes down or up? 
A. Eyes down. 

68. Q. How far apart should Lima bean poles be set? 

A. Four by four feet if in a patch, or if in a single row then every three 
feet. Wire netting three to four feet high and supported by posts is 
better. 

69. Q. What is a runner among bush beans or peas? 

A. It is a plant which develops a long vine, and as such stands out in 
marked contrast among the other vines which are of uniform height. 

70. Q. Are all tall growing vines of peas and bush beans runners? 

A. No. As often a vine situated over a lump of manure will run from 
extra fertility — or deeply-rooled vines will continue in growth after all 
others have slopped. 

71. Q. Why do wax podded beans rust more than green -podded varie- 
ties? 

A. Rust, 80 called, is the result of a fungus growth, which seems to 



QUEEIES AND ANSWERS. 15 

flourish to a greater extent on wax-podded beans than on the old green- 
podded and less juicy and less delicate forms. 

73. Q. What is a string beau ? Bean. 

A. It should be iu its best estate a bean without a string, properly a 
snap short, but few sorts are perfectly stringless. 

73. Q. How should sugar peas be prepared for cooking? Sugar Peas. 
A. Break off the ends, pull oflFthe strings, and then break up the pods 

into pieces half an inch long ; cook same as string beans. 

74. Q Can you explain why my spinach for two years back has been so Spinach, 
sickly as to be of little value ? 

A. It must be suffering from insects at the root or from one of the three 
or four fungus growths known as spinach blight. If so, the only remedy 
is a change of location of the spinach patch. 

75. Q. Does the color of the leaves of beets indicate the color of the flesh Beets. 

of the roots? Color of 

A. No ; the leaves of Long Blood beet, as generally sold, is quite one- 
third dashed with green. When selected entirely of deep red foliage, the 
production of seed is so reduced as to be unprofitable. 

76. Q. How many tons to the acre of sugar beets are grown on the beetSagar Beets, 
farms of Germany ? 

A. Twenty to thirty tons. 

77. Q. What percentage of sugar is obtained from the German sugar Beet Sugar, 
beets ? 

A. Many years ago only five per cent, as the result of actual manufac- 
ture ; now ten and sometimes fourteen tons of sugir from one hundred 
tons of beets. 

78. Q. What are Mangold Wurzels? Mangolds. 
A. A family of beets bred to a large size for cattle feeding. The roots 

are easily injured by Autumn frosts, and therefore must be taken up in 
good time and properly protected. When first harvested they are acrid 
and scour cattle, but after a few months become palatable and safe. The 
approved types produce massive roots which, well elevated above the 
surface, are harvested with the greatest ease and produce double the 
weight of turnips to the acre, to which advantage may be added the high 
nutritive value, the saccharine often being equal to six or seven per cent, 
of the gross weight. The Mangold is a high feeder — potash and nitrogen 
are needed to force the plant into vigorous growth ; stable manure will 
do it, or kainit mixed with dried meat or fish. Drill when the cherry is 
in bloom. 

79. Q. What should be done with the weeds when pulled up ? Weeda. 
A. They may be burned and the ashes used as manure. They may be 

used in the formation of compost piles if their seeds are immature, or they 

may be put in cattle yards to be trampled down. 

80 Q. What is the best manure ? „ 

^ Manure. 

A. "Landreths' Farm Notes" says stable manure is king, but it can- 
not always be obtained in quantity, nor at the desired periods ; failing to 



16 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Green 
Manures. 



Com. 



Sugar Corn. 



obtain it for present use, we recommend chemical manures, ■which, used 
in seasons not too dry, may do equally well at less cost ; but if time per- 
mits, green manures will be found the cheapest. 

81. Q. How is green manuring practiced ? 

A. Four crops of green manure can be turned down in seventeen 
months, by seeding rye in October, corn in April, a second crop of corn 
in July, and rye again in October, to be plowed under in April. This ro- 
tation will surprise the experimenter, who will see his soil made fertile, 
friable, and in general vigor far beyond its previous condition, all due to 
the valuable component parts of tlie vegetable matter plowed under, and 
to the absorption and retention of nitrogen by the soil consequent upon 
the extended covering of the surface. From the earliest agricultural rec- 
ords green manuring has been practiced, and whole districts of country 
in Europe have been rendered fertile by such practice. A large district 
in Germany, once a barren, is now most fertile, all due to the use of the 
lupine, which plant, however, does not offer such good results under the 
hot sun of the American climate, 

82. Q. What is the history of Corn or Maize ? 

A. This is a native of North anil South America, having been found in 
cultivation by the first European voyagers. Modern researches in Peru 
and Mexico have given evidence that its culture extends far beyond any 
historic period. There is no foundation whatever for the statement that 
Indian corn has been found in the wrappings of Egyptian mummies ; 
such tales being pure fabrications. Seeds of wheat, sorghum and millet 
have been discovered, but it is doubtful if any such seed ever vegetated. 
Indian corn may be divided into six classes, viz.: Pop, Zea Eoerta ; 
Flint, Zea Indurata; Dent, Zea ladentata; Soft, Zea Anylaca; Sweet, 
Zea SaccJiaratum; Pod or Husli, Zea Vaginata; and each of these are 
subdivided according to shape of the ear, number of rows upon each ear. 

83. Q. Give directions for planting sugar corn. 

A. Table corn cannot be planted successfully at an earlier date than 
the ordinary field varieties, indeed it is more likely to decay under unfa- 
vorable soil conditions than the Iiardier field varieties. As a rule, sugar 
corn is not as vital as the field sorts, and therefore it is wise to plant 
almost a doul)le number of grains in the hill as compared with field corn. 
When the cherry is in bloom, lulls for the short varieties of three and 
four feet in height, may be made three by three feet apart ; for the inter- 
mediate varieties three by four feet ; and for the tall varieties, four by four 
feet apart. In all cases allowing tliree stalks to stand to the hill. Repe- 
titions of corn planting sliould be made every two weeks, and for the 
quick-ripening varieties tiie planting may be continued until within sixty 
days oi. frost. Seed should be provided at the rate of ten quarts to the 
acre. We always provide that much, though often only planting six or 
seven quarts. The plants thinned out to three inches apart. Of the me- 
dium and large varieties of sugar corn seventy-five to eighty bushels, or 
8000 to 9000 roasting ears can be had to the acre. The average price paid 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 17 

by Philadelphia commission merchaats is one dollar per bushel. The 
highest price is about three dollars per bushel and the lowest price about 
sixty cents per bushel. Green corn packed loosely in slatted bushel bas- 
kets will, in early season, carry safely for forty hours. In larger packages 
it may become injured by heating. Caution. — Seed corn in bulk should 
be taken out of the bags as soon as received and spread out in a dry place. 

84. Q. How many varieties of corn are there? Com. 
A. Indian corn as a family may be divided into six divisions : as — pop, 

flint, dent, soft, sweet, and pod or primitive. 

85. Q. I have a variety of corn, many stalks of which are bearing three seed Corn. 
large ears, and I write to inquire, if I take my seed for next year from 

the stalks bearing three ears will the next crop also bear three ears? 

A. There is no assurance that corn grown from ears of which there 
were three on a stalk will reproduce that same character. There is, how- 
ever, a strong probability, and were it not for the disposition of heredity 
in plants of all kinds, there would be no encouragement whatever for the 
farmer to endeavor to improve by selection. 

86. Q. Why is it that sugar corn is often weak in germinating force ? Corn 
A. Sugar corn is among the most delicate of all seeds to cure and keep VitaUty. 

in good condition. If kept over Winter in sacks it will often lose half its 
vitality from heating or sweating. It should accordingly be kept spread storage. 
out upon floors or trays in a dry cool place. 

87. Q. How should a vegetable garden be laid out? Vegetable 
A. The old style of garden, laid out in squares to be dug and culti- *" *"* 

vated exclusively by hand, is becoming a thing of the past. The vegeta- 
ble garden is now laid out in parallel rows or drills, ranging from two to 
three feet apart, and the cultivation in the greater part done by horse- 
power. The seeds should be all sown in drills or rows so as to be adapted 
to horse culture ; hand labor is the dearest of all and should be avoided. 
The land, if circumstances will permit, should not be of a less length than 
seventy-five yards, and may with advantage be extended to two hundred, 
according to the quantity of vegetables required. Long lands where ani- 
mal power is used are much to be preferred to short fields, as much time 
is saved in turning ; for example, a plow team in a journey of eight hours, 
plowing land seventy -eight yards long, spends four hours and thirty-nine 
minutes on the headlands, whereas were the furrows two hundred and 
seventy-four yards long, the time spent in turning would be but one hour 
and nineteen minutes. The tillage of the garden should be with the most 
approved labor-saving implements — wheel-hoes, for hand use, scarifiers and 
cultivators for horse ; the seeds should be sown with hand-drills, and fer- 
tilizers of the guano class applied with similar apparatus, and thus, with- 
out interfering with the labor of the farm, be made to yield vegetables in 
profusion, when if the spade and hoe be relied on they are produced in 
fatinted quantities. 

The amateur gardener, and the expert as well, should make out a list 
of the varieties of vegetables he desires to have, and then lay off on paper 



18 QITERIES AND ANSWERS. 

a diagram of his garden, assigning certain rows to each sort. He can then 
readily calculate the amount of seed he will require. 

Tarnip. 88. Q. What is a Strap leaved turnip? 

A. A strap leaf is an entire leaf, differing from a cut leaf which is ser- 
rated clear through to the midrib, while on strap leaves there are no in- 
dentations, but the edges form an unbroken line like the margin of a 
rabbit's ear. 

Celery. 89. Q. Will a good type of celery ever produce pithy stalks? 

A. Yes, sometimes it will on light soils 

Most 90. Q. Which celery is the most profitable? 

Profitable. A. Opinions differ, but all unite in advocating the culture of the short 

varieties, as they are more easily managed than the bulky sorts. The 
red varieties are more hardy than the white and more effective. 

Boots 91- Q- How can I keep my root crops of turnips and beets throughout 

Keeping over the Winter? 

"Winter. ^ Crops of turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, salsify, potatoes, can all 

be kept by pitting. Mounds as sometimes used are more exposed to frost 
and require careful construction. 

When pitting select a suitable spot protected by buildings or forest from 
the severity of winds and where the drainage is good, an indispensable 
prerequisite. Dig a trench sixteen inches wide and as many or more inches 
in depth, the length as convenient or necessary, the trench divided into 
sections with undisturbed earth partitions every ten feet, to arrest fermen- 
tation occurring in any one division from passing further to the next. 
In this trench deposit the topped roots to a quantity raising tliem almost 
even with the surface and cover with the earth dug out of the trench, 
banking it up to a height of twelve or fifteen inches. When frost may be 
expected in severity cover the bank with long stable manure or trash. 
Roots of all descriptions can thus be kept securely. They are accessible 
at all times and may be removed as needed. In pits such as described, 
the writer has kept beets and carrots for cattle feeding up to the first day 
of July. 

Horse-radish 92. Q. How should horseradish be planted ? 

A. This plant, seldom producing seed, is propagated from sets cut from 
old roots, and in market-garden culture nearly always planted as a succes- 
sion to a Spring crop which by time of removal leaves the horse radish well 
established. The sets are planted in rows of about two feet by eighteen 
inches, frequently among Spring cabbage. Holes are made with a long 
planting stick, into which are dropped the horse-radish sets to a depth that 
the top will be three inches under the surfiice. It will only succeed in 
highly fertilized land, and each year should he planted afresh. In garden 
culture the sets are sometimes planted in the upper end of round drain tiles 
sunk into the ground and filled with earth, the radish root being thus 
directed straight downwards. Yield about 150 bushels to the acre. Sets, 
per doz. 15c. ; per 100 50c. ; per 1000 $4,00. 

Oardpn 93. Q. Will it pay me to engage a practical trucker to oversee my mar- 

Mauager. kct-^arden farms ? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 19 

A. Yes, if the farm is often or more acres. Length of 

94. Q. Do you recommend long or siiort rows for vegetable garden Kows. 
culture? 

A. Long lands, where animal power is used, are much to be preferred 
to short fields, as much time is saved in turning ; for example, a plow 
team in a journey of eight hours, plowing land seventy-eight yards long, 
spends four hours and thirty-nine minutes on the headlands, whereas, 
were the furrows two hundred and seventy-four yards long, the time 
spent in turning would be but one hour and nineteen minutes. 

95. Q. Is amateur or market gardening a business easily learned ? Gardening 
A. To raise ordinary vegetables not much experience is necessary, but Experience. 

a complete knowledge of the art of gardening can only be acquired by 
much experience and quick perception. 

96. Q. How should I make a lawn. Lawn. 
A. The Landreth lawn grass mixture which we offer should not be 

compared with the cheaper preparations advertised. Our piescription is 
of the best chosen varieties, as respects color, texture and permanency, 
and will be found clear of weed seeds. Any one who purchases cheap, 
badly mixed lawn grass will soon realize that it was a poor investment, 
as the error will stand out for years in glaring ugliness. 

This prescription consists of 100 parts, divided in such proportion be- 
tween those grasses which our observation has indicated as best for general 
park effect, as respects color, density of herbage, vigor, quick recupera- 
tion after mowing and permanency. The seeds used are all well cleaned, 
and we believe them to be pure and of full vitality, and all persons using 
them are certain to secure a stand, provided the land be properly prepared 
and the seed sown at the proper time and at the right depth, and pro- 
vided there be sufficient rainfall to germinate the seed. We cannot be 
responsible for the errors of the inexperienced. A pound of seed will 
sow a space 20 x 20 feet, or say 400 square feet. Sixty pounds will sow 
an acre, but we recommend seventy or eighty pounds. Price per pound, 
about 25 cents. 

Much of the success of lawn making depends upon the preparation of 
the ground. The land must be well plowed or dug and harrowed or 
raked to secure thorough pulverization, and after being reduced to a per- 
fectly even surface should be cleared of stumps, stones, roots and other 
impediments. The soil should then be made firm with a heavy roller and 
top-dressed with a good fertilizer, unless the land had received an appli- 
cation of seven to eight tons of very short well-rotted stable manure 
before plowing. We will here remark that stable manure is the best of 
all fertilizers, but there being some difficulty in obtaining it and objections 
to its use on account of its offensive appearance and smell, we recommend 
in Landreth lawn fertilizer a good grade of concentrated fertilizer. Six 
to seven hundred pounds to the acre of such mixture should be applied. 
The fertilizer should be lightly harrowed in upon the seedbed, as it will 
be lost to the young plants if buried much beneath the surface. After 



20 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

the harrowing the ground should be severely rolled, that the earth and 
seed may be brought into close contact. Our lawn grass mixture should 
be sown at the rate of sixty pounds to the acre and rolled down. Sowing 
in September and October will be found most advantageous in latitudes 
south of Philadelphia ; in more northerly locations Spring sowing is most 
successfully practiced, the work being done in April and May. 

Annual seeds, natural to the soil, are certain to spring up before the 
young grass becomes established, and an inexperienced person is likely to 
conclude that the weeds spring from weed seed in the grass seed, but all 
soils contain weed seeds, and upon tillage they are certain to vegetate. 
The weeds as they become large enough may be cut down or pulled up ; 
after the first year their growth will cease. Frequent rolling is advanta- 
geous in producing a good lawn by solidifying the soil, harassing insects 
and other vermin, and improving the level of the surface. 

Students ot agriculture will find the volume on the " Grasses of North 
America," by Professor W. J. Beale, of much value in assisting them in 
this interesting study. 

On all lawns will regularly appear in greater or less numbers a lot of 
interlopers, such as buttercups, plantains, dandelions, all from seeds 
natural to the soil. These uninvited guests should always be dug out, 
otherwise subsequent labor will be increased one hundredfold by their 
seeding. Lawns may be advantageously dressed with stable manure in 
December, the long strawy portions being removed in March. 

On those portions of lawns as around the house, where an immediate 
result in grass effect is desired, sod may be used. Fair sod can generally 
be had on roadsides, and if carefully taken up and when laid down accu- 
rately jointed and solidified, and covered with half an inch of rich com- 
post, it will at once start off and very soon be as much a fixture as the 
adjoining trees and shrubs. 

Lawn grass of good quality should produce a fair mat of herbage in 
from seventy to ninety days. 

Some parties offering lawn grass at a low price are using the so-called 
Canada Blue Grass, which sometimes contains seeds of Canada Thistle, a 
pest, and difficult to eradicate. 

Some people, after seeding a piece of land with lawn grass expect 
to see a green mat in two or three weeks, but in this they are unrea- 
sonable, as the better varieties of grass are slow to produce elfect, and 
when an eOect is quickly developed it is at the expense of adaptability 
and permanency. For instance, a fine mat of green color can be had in 
two weeks from a heavy sowing of white clover, something very effective 
and pleasing to the eye, but clover is not a grass and is not suitable for 
lawns, failing to produce that velvet-like effect, the result of the growth 
of the erect leaves produced by the best grasses, which habit fits them to 
quickly recover after mowing. 

Manures or fertilizers for lawns may be of many combinations. We 
recommend to those who prefer to do their own mixing a compound of 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 2l 

300 pountis of superphosphate, costing say $5 00 

300 pounds dried meat, blood or fish, at 6 00 

400 pounds refuse common salt, at 1 00 

Or say per acre $12 00 

The quantity of the two first may be doubled to advantage, or even 
made stronger, as grass will stand almost any amount of fertilizer. 

The common salt used as an alterative and solvent will be found, 
through its affinity for moisture, to have a decided influence in keeping 
up the emerald green condition so desirable on a perfect lawn. On grow- 
ing grass not more than three bushels to the acre should be applied in a 
seaj^on, and then best during a rain — never under a hot sun. 

97. Q. What kind of grass should be sown on athletic grounds? Grass for 
A. This prescription is also of 100 parts, but dilTers from our park lawn Athletic 

grass in the list of varieties, a proportion of such sorts being here added '""" ^' 
as to better stand the wear and tear of tramping consequent upon games 
of tennis, cricket, lacrosse and baseball. 

A pound will sow a space 20 x 20 feet, or say 400 square feet. Sixty 
pounds will sow an acre, but we recommend seventy or eighty pounds. 
Price per pound, 25 cents. 

Old lawns much in decay had best be plowed up, leveled up and re- 
sown, but often this course is not convenient, certainly not if the lawn 
can be renovated by a system taking less time. In that case, when prompt 
results are desirable, the old sod should be well combed by a harrow to 
tear out the dried grass and easily extracted dead roots. This operation 
also breaks the earth, putting it in a pulverized condition to receive seed, 
which may be sown broadcast, and falling between the living grass, roots 
into the friable and fresh soil, and is at once in position to germinate and 
occupy the space. On many lawns cut with the lawn mower there ap- 
pear many pests — the creeping veronica and the mouse-eared chickweed 
being prominent — wiiich crowd out desirable grasses and mar the appear- 
ance of the sward. Under such circumstances it is advised to break up 
the parts affected and sow with seed of the Sheep Fescue, which will admit 
of such close cutting as to destroy all pestiferous plants. The seed of 
Sheep Fescue costs about sixteen cents per pound. 

98. Q. Is there a grass or mixture suitable for growth under trees? Grass under 
A. Landreths' mixture of varieties produces a reliable stand under '''''■®*'®* 

dense shade of either pine or hard-wood trees in positions where all 
other grasses may have failed. Sixty pounds should be sown to the acre 
— or, say one pound on a space 20 x 20 feet, or in proportion for other di- 
mensions. Price per pound, 25 cents. 

99. Q. What is the best grass for a permanent pasture ? Permanent 
A. The preparation of the land for permanent pasture is a labor that Pasture. 

must not be slighted, and though farm work cannot be reduced to the 
nicety of lawn culture, we nevertheless direct attention to our directions 
on lawn making, and would say that the nearer the directions are fol- 



22 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

lowed the greater the probability of success. It must, however, be borne 
in mind that a pasture sod cannot be obtained in one year. 

The judicious selection of grass seed for the creation of a durable pasture 
requires a Ivnowledge obtained only by an intimate study of the habits of 
varieties as respects quality of lierbage and vigor of constitution. Except 
in the Blue Grass sections of Kcntucliy and Tennessee, it is not sufficient 
always to select tlie one grass indigenous to the district, for it may not pos- 
sess the double quality desirable for green pasturage and hay, for hardiness 
and permanence, which combination of qualities and character is best found 
in a mixture of sorts. That prescription, to be thorouglily scientific, 
should be adapted to the geological composition of the soil, be it slaty, 
calcareous or allcaline, as well as the mechanical condition of the soil, be 
it sandy, loamy or clayey. These conditions vary so much that no one 
can attempt to be entirely exact in a recommendation for grasses to be 
planted. We cannot more than undertake to prescribe for soils heavy, as 
clay or deep loam ; medium, as light loam or peat ; light, as sand, slate or 
gravel. We are prepared to furnish single grasses, or two or three in a 
mixture, to meet the requirements of any ordinary farm land for the pro- 
duction of hay ; or, if permanent pasture is desired, we are prepared to 
furnish mixtures for soils either heavy or light. 
Hay Grasses. 100. Q. I should be pleased to have your views in regard to grasses for 
hay and pasture for our Texas stocli ? 

A. Most artificial grasses fail to stand in warm climates ; even in tide- 
water Virginia there is difficulty. 

Natural grasses, when good ones can be found, are to be decidedly pre- 
ferred. Attention is however invited to Orchard grass as a vigorous and 
generally reliable sort. 

Alfalfa is a grass resisting heat. When once established it is a heavy pro- 
ducer, but does better as a grass to be mowed than pastured, as cattle eat 
oflFa large portion of the crowns which stand up above the surface. 
Red Top, 101. Q. What is the distinction between Herds grass or Red Top, and 

^"^ Rhode Island Bent ? 

A. Herds grass, growing very largely in New Jersey and the West, 13 
known botauically as Agrostis vulgaris. Rhode Island Bent, found grow- 
ing naturally over the States of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massa- 
chusetts, is known as Agrostis vulgaris minor. They are very similar in 
nearly all particulars. The Rhode Island Bent, when kept mowed down 
closely, makes a fine lawn effect : no other variety of grass being more 
highly prized, for lawn purposes, in the New England States. 
Canada Blue 103. Q. What do you know about Canadian Blue grass? 
Grass. A. Blue grass seed from Canada was sold in the Eastern markets forty 

or fifty years ago in preference to the Kentucky seed, because tlie latter 
was fuzzy and not easily sown. But later on, by the use of improved 
machinery, the Kentucky seed was made as clean and free from fuzz as 
the Canadian, and is preferred to the latter as being purer and free from 
any danger of Canada thistle, which is the worst pest which can establish 
itself upon a farm. 



Rhode Island 
Beut 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 23 

103. Q. Why is it my new lawn sowed with lawn grass is full of weeds ? Lawn Grass. 
A. From seeds of weeds, some of which may have been in the soil for 

many years. Every experienced gardener knows that in new lawns weeds 
always seem to take possession of the land. They should be pulled up 
or mowed off. If the seed of the lawn grass is vital, patience will reward 
the gardener. The weeds are only annual and will die during Winter 
whilst the grass will live. 

104. Q. Why do some lawn grass mixtures develop an earlier effect Cheap Grass, 
than others? 

A. Those which produce the earliest effect are generally combinations of 
the cheaper grasses, prominent among which is Herds grass. 

105. Q. Should hay be cut before it is perfectly ripe? Hay. 
A. Yes, because in the unripe forage there is considerable sugary 

matter most valuable in cattle feeding, which as the plants ripen changes 
first into starch and then into woody fibre. 

106. Q. What is your experience with Scarlet clover? Scarlet 
A. Our field experience with Scarlet or Crimson clover, as it is variously Clover. 

called, dates back to 1871, when we first grew it as a field crop on our 
Virginia farm. Many years before that we grew it experimentally in our 
trial grounds. Its value is : 

(1). For pasturage in Winter and early Spring. If not pastured too 
closely it will afterwards make a crop for cutting for green feeding, later 
on for hay, or still later for plowing under. 

(2). For cutting green in April and May as food for horses or cows ; 
soiling as it is termed. It will be found fully four to five weeks earlier 
than Red clover, consequently it admits of very early cutting. The New 
Jersey Experimental Station estimates that one acre in April and May 
will feed ten cows for twenty days. In New Jersey fifteen tons of green 
stuflf has been cut to the acre. Its composition and digestibility is better 
than Red clover, but of course animals must not be permitted to overfeed. 

(8). For hay. In dry hay it gives a product of one to two tons to the 
acre of a quality similar to Red clover. The stems, when the crop is in 
bloom, vary from two to five feet long according to soil. 

(4). For green manuring. This may be done in April or May and is its 
chief merit because of its wonderful development by that date both above 
and below ground. Like Red clover it roots to great depths, even as 
much as six feet, and gathers the spread-out potash of the soil, drawing 
it up and concentrating it near the surface, where subsequent and less 
deeply-rooting crops can get it. 

The New Jersey Experimental Station estimates its value in potash 
and nitrogen at thirty dollars to the acre. Of course this is a laboratory 
test and a book-maker's calculation, but the field experience of hundreds 
of observant farmers seems to sustain the estimate as the result of plow- 
ing it under. In Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, where it is best 
known, the results have been phenomenal. It will not flourish on wet 
land, but it will grow on poor, sandy soil or on thin, worn-out lands, but Soil. 



2^ 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Seeding. 



Cost. 



Cutting 
Grain. 



Plant 
Foliage. 



Dodder. 



of course naturally does better as the soil improves. Its eflfect is most 
noticeable on worn-out fields and we specially recommend it to the own- 
ers of such in cotton and tobacco sections. 

North of the Potomac and the Ohio rivers it should be sown between 
1st July and 15th August. South of that latitude it can be sown in Sep- 
tember and October according to latitude. Fifteen pounds should be 
broadcdsted to the acre ; the land well-plowed and harrowed before and 
after seeding. It should be very lightly covered. It does not do well 
sown with grain, as it cannot be cut green nor pastured when among 
grain, while for plowing under it needs to be turned down before the 
grain is ripe. It can be sown to great advantage in apple, pear and peach 
orchards after the tillage has ceased. Its manurial eflcct upon peach 
trees is very remarkable. It can also be broadcasted with buckwheat or 
sown among fields of tomatoes, melons, corn and cabbage, or any crop 
where the culture is over by the first of September, the clover to remain 
after the named crops are removed. Growing more rapidly than Red 
clover, it develops before Winter a mat-like covering over the ground, 
protecting it from the injurious effects of exposure to wind and sun during 
Winter. In this respect it is better than rye, because it is equally quick 
and more fertilizing, being a potash plant. Sown in such places as indi- 
cated, it can be plowed down any time in the Spring to a profit four times 
its cost. 

The cost of seed to sow an acre is about $1 00 to $1.50. The expenses 
of preparing the land to sow and plowing the clover under cau be calcu- 
lated by any farmer. The estimated value to the acre of Scarlet clover as 
a green manure is thirty dollars. An experiment conducted with a corn 
crop following a crop of Crimson clover, the seed of which costs one dol- 
lar to the acre, and the various operations of plowing and harrowing 
four dollars — a total of five dollars — gave as much corn to the acre as an 
application of twenty dollars' worth of nitrate of soda. 

107. Q. Should wheat, rye and oats be cut before fully ripe ? 

A. Yes, as by such course the straw is of a better quality, there is an 
extended opportunity to secure the crop, there is a saving in the crop by 
securing it all, and the nutritive powers of the grain are greater than when 
longer exposed to the action of the sun. 

108. Q. Does the outward appearance of plants indicate the character 
of manuring and system of tillage necessary to be pursued? 

A. Decidedly so. Beans and peas show by their foliage that tbey derive 
most nutrition from the air, and wheat and rye from the spareness of 
their foliage show they receive the least. 

109. Q. What is dodder? 

A. It is a parasitic creeper, leafless, twining, the stems twisting con- 
trary to the sun's course and attaching themselves to the supporting 
plant by numerous air roots wliich, extracting the sap of tlie phint, kill 
it by starvation. The seeds of dodder at first germinate and vegetate upon 
the earth till the plant reaches a height of two or three inches, by which 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 25 

time, if its tendrils can seize upon the juicy stems of clover, flax, hops, 
tomatoes, onions and many other plants, they will attach themselves to 
these plants and cease to continue their attachment to the soil. The 
color of the plant is yellow, and it produces closely packed heads of bell- 
shaped white and pink flowers sometimes quite sweet scented. 

110. Q. What is ramie? Ramie. 
A. It is a plant, a native of China and adjacent countries, and of value 

as producing a bark containing a fibre in many respects supposed to be 
equal to flax. 

111. Q. In what States can ramie be grown? Kamie. 
A. Very successfully in any of the cotton States. The roots once 

planted last for many years. 

112. Q. How many tons of the dry green bark can be produced to the Green Bark. 
acre and at what value ? 

A. On good bottom land two to three crops can be grown. To each 
cutting from 503 to 1000 pounds, worth five cents per pound. 

113. Q. Has the manufacture of ramie fabric yet become an established Manufacture. 
process ? 

A. Not yet, though many mills are making experiments in de-gumming 
imported ramie bark known as China grass and in spinning the thread 
and weaving tissues. 

114. Q. Give directions for starting or forcing Vegetable or Flower Forcing 
seeds in the house ? Seeds. 

A. When it is desired to hasten the development of plants, they may be 
sown in the conservatory or in boxes within the house. Those who have 
greenhouses hardly need directions, but for those who have had less 
experience we drop the following hints : 

Procure shallow boxes, trays, or broad pots from two to four inches 
deep ; the bottoms permitting the free passage of water, else the earth 
will bake and become sour. Seeds will not germinate satisfactorily or 
thrive in a wet soil. Prepare a mixture of one-third leaf-mold cut fine, 
one-third clean sand, and one third finely pulverized stable manure ; 
moisten the mixture thoroughly, and fill into the boxes to within a half 
inch of the top— gently patting down the surface to a level. Upon this 
distribute the seed, and cover just out of sight, by sifting over the seed 
the finest earth procurable, settling the seed down with a fine spray of 
water shaken from a brush, a heavier application baking the surface. 
Place the boxes where they will remain at a temperature of between 60° 
and 70°, applying water with a brush or fine rose when the surface be- 
comes dry. When the seedlings are half an inch high, they may be 
transplanted to other boxes, placing the tiny plants about one to each 
square inch. When these become so large as to crowd each other, they 
should again be transplanted to the garden or to other boxes according to 
the season. 

115. Q. What is a hotbed ? Hotbed. 
A. It is a box or frame without bottom or top, made for one, two or 



26 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 




Man are. 



four sash, aa in the illustration. It may be made permanent of brick or 
stone, or temporary of 
plank or one-inch com- 
mon boards, the back 
board about twenty 
inches high, one-half 
greater elevation than 
the front, which should 
be twelve to fourteen 
inches — the whole 
made to support a sash 

or several of any dimensions, the best of about three by seven feet. The 
back being higher than the front, gives a declivity to the sash, thus cast- 
ing off the rain, which it would not do if flat. 

The box at proper season is placed upon a bed of fermenting material, 
which, making a gentle and continuous heat, warms up a layer of soil 
resting upon it, and thus germinates seed and forces plants into rapid 
growth. 

The value of the bed depends principally upon the character of the 
fermenting material. This should be rich stable manure (no cow dung) 
forked over two or three times at intervals of a week and kept in a deep 
and compact pile till it begins to smoke or steam, indicating that the 
process of fermentation has set in. If the dung be very rich in grain an 
addition of forest leaves is desirable, as they serve to prolong the period 
of fermentation, which otherwise might be too rapid. 
l,ocation aud Selecting a well drained location, and one never flooded by rain, exca- 
Makiug. vate a pit one or two feet deep, and one foot longer and one foot broader 

than the box. Into this place six inches of rough barnyard manure, corn 
stalks, leaves or straw, for drainage, and on it lightly fork in the ferment- 
ing dung and tramp it firmly down to a depth of two feet. Place on the 
box and fit the sash lightly, cover with mats and allow fermentation to 
again proceed, banking up with hot manure on the outside all around at 
an angle of 45°. Place on top of the manure a layer of three inches of 
rich, moist, finely pulverized soil. In a day or so the temperature will 
rise to 120O. When the temperature has fallen to 90° destroy all the 
weeds which have sprouted ; and sow the seed for which the bed is in- 
tended. Cover every night with mats to exclude frost and give air during 
the day, never allowing the temperature to fall below 70° or rise above 
90°. The secret of growing good plants is to give plenty of air, else the 
plants will be sickly, spindly specimens. Short, stocky plants are what 
are desired. Sow the seed in rows three inches apart and one-quarter to 
one-third inch deep, and cover by sifting on fine earth. 

Water every evening. Remove the mats every morning about nine 
o'clock, give air about ten o'clock. Cut off the air in the afternoon as 
soon as the air becomes the least chilly. Cover with mats before sunset. 
Hotbeds should be covered early in the evening, to retain their heat, and 



Care of 
Ilotbeda. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 27 

in the morning uncovered -when the sun rests upon the glass, as every 
effort should be made to give the plants all the sunlight possible, as its 
rays are vivifying to a degree beyond the amount of its heat, it having a 
chemical and physiological effect beyond explanation. Even dull light 
is better than no light, consequently it is a bad plan to cover sashes ■with 
mats, except for the direct purpose of keeping out cold. Peppers and 
egg plants require more heat than other plants. Success depends on 
bottom heat from the manure, top heat from the sun, water from daily 
application, and air at midday. Without plenty of air the other requisites 
will be fruitless. All seedlings should be transplanted into other hobteds 
or intermediate beds when two inches high. Hotbeds may be used for 
forcing lettuce, radish, egg plant, pepper, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower 
and ornamental flowers. 

We have known locations where stable manure for hotbeds was not Artificial 
readily obtained, and to meet such conditions we give the following ®* * 
directions for manufacturing a fermenting material for the production of 
a moderate and continuous heat, the quantities named being sufficient 
for a box twelve by seven feet. Take as the crude materials, 500 pounds 
of straw, three bushels powdered quicklime, six pounds muriatic acid, 
six pounds saltpetre. 

Having piepared the excavation of proper dimensions, spread three or 
four inches of forest leaves or old hay in the bottom. Upon that spread 
eight inches of the straw, tramp it down and sprinkle with one-third part 
of the quicklime. Dilute the six pounds of muriatic acid with twenty 
gallons of water, and by means of an old broom, sprinkle the bed with 
one-third part of the solution. Make another layer of eight inches of 
Btraw, applying quicklime and the solution as before. Repeat for a third 
layer. Upon this make a fourth layer of straw, and upon it sprinkle the 
four pounds of saltpetre dissolved in thirty gallons of water. Place the 
box in position, bank up outside, within the box spread three inches rich, 
finely pulverized earth, and put on the sash. A heat will soon be gener- 
ated which will continue for two or three weeks. 

116. Q. What is the cause of coldness in clay soils? Radiation. 
A. Clay soils holding water have much of it to evaporate, and radiation 

always produces cold. 

117. Q. Does drainage warm the soil ? Drainage. 
A. Yes ; as it reduces the amount of water to be evaporated and radia- 
tion always produces cold. 

118. Q. What is meant by firming the soil ? Firming the 
A. It is a newly coined expression to indicate a process as old as the ^^^* 

agriculture of Virgil. It means pressing down the soil with the feet or a 
roller, so that the soil and seed or transplanted seedling and soil are 
brought into intimate contact so that germination or vegetation may be 
hastened and promoted. 

119. Q. What is sap? Sap. 



28 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Frost. 



Mold. 



A. Sap is water circulating in plants, and containing gaseous matter 
and certain earths and salts in solution or suspension. 

120. Q. Why do young vegetables and the tender leaves of all plants 
suffer more from frost than older growth ? 

A. Because supercharged with sap they evaporate rapidly and become 
cold and freeze sooner than parts more mature. 
121 Q. What is vegetable mold ? 
A. It is a dark-colored soil best known as the upper strata found in 
woodlands. It consists of decayed weeds, twigp, branches of trees, de- 
cayed grass and other vegetable matter mixed with surface soil. 
Gypsuin. 122. Q. What is gypsum? 

A. It is known sometimes as plaster of Paris, sometimes as sulphate of 
lime. It is the least valuable of the mineral manures, pound for pound, 
but is highly thought of as a top dressing for grass lands, clover thriving 
especially after its application. 
Insecticides. 123. Q. How can I kill garden ants ? 

A. By using molasses mixed with pans green. 
Insecticide. 184. Q. What is the best insecticide ? 

A. The discovery of an article which, while not injuring the cucumber 
plant, will destroy the bug which infests it from the time of its germina- 
tion until it has attained a growth of three or four rough leaves, is a sub- 
ject of the greatest interest to all cultivators of this fruit. So much has 
been written of a contradictory nature upon this subject that it is next 
to impossible to determine what remedies to adopt. We would suggest 
that each cultivator experiment for himself with several compounds : for 
instance, one part of hellebore mixed with four parts of ground land 
plaster ; one part of slug shot mixed with six parts of land plaster ; one 
part Paris green mixed with twelve parts of land plaster ; and one pint of 
kerosene oil mixed with three quarts of sawdust. 

Good results in the destruction of squash bugs have been obtained by 
the application, under ground about the roots of the plants, of the liquid 
carbon bisulphide, the fumes of which are quickly deadly to insect life. 
Eight ounces of Paris green to 100 gallons of water is Professor Cook's 
wash for the cucumber beetle. Oil of Lavender is very efficient. 
Paris Green. 125. Q. In the use of Paris green, what quantity should be applied ? 

A. On an average one pound to twenty-five or thirty of plaster or lime, 
or one tablespoonful to four gallons of water. 
Paris Green. 126 Q. Name the six or seven insecticides in most general use, attach- 
ing suggestive prices for same? 

Paris green about 30 cents per pound. 

Slug shot " 25 " 

Hellebore " 25 " 

London purple " 20 " " " 

Persian insect powder " 75 " " " 

Hammond thrip juice. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 29 

127. Q Do you recommend applying insectitcides in powder or solu- Water, 
tion? 

A. Try both ways, water on small areas, powder on large tracts, 

128. Q. Does water act as a fertilizer ? Water. 
A. Impure water does because it contains fertilizing matter absorbed 

from decaying material. Pure water acts in a fertilizing way only by the 
gases which it contains. 

129. Q. Is rain water of a fertilizing character? Rain Water. 
A. Yes ; as it contains ammonia, which it absorbs during its passage 

through the air. 

130. Q. Is there any foundation for the proverb that snow is the poor Snow, 
man's manure? 

A. There is, as snow in falling absorbs more fertilizing elements than 
the same amount of rain, and when resting on the earth acts as a blanket 
to stop the ammoniacal emanation from the soil. 

131. Q. Does a large crop of cedar-tree berries and other wild bird fruit Severe 
indicate the approach of a severe Winter ? AVmter. 

A. No, not necessarily ; it simply Is the resultant eflFect of a previously 
mild Winter. After a cold Winter there often follows a mild one, and the 
berries then afford a good supply of food for birds. 

132. Q.. What is dew ? Dew. 
A. It is water condensed from the atmosphere and deposited upon 

bodies cooler than the atmosphere. 

133. Q. Why are cloudy nights less dewy than clear nights? Radiation. 
A. Because clouds reducing radiation prevent objects parting with as 

much heat as they would if radiation was uninterrupted. 

134. Q. Why is it that gravel walks are in the morning found dry. Radiation. 
while the grass on both sides is wet with dew ? 

A. Because gravel does not radiate as rapidly as grass, therefore does 
not become a depository of dew. 

135. Q. Why is the subject of dew one of much importance to the gar- Dew. 
dener? 

A. Because the study of the subject impresses upon the gardener the 
fact that the atmosphere contains a quantity of moisture, and that by 
keeping his garden soil loose that air may enter it he may in dry seasons 
profit by the natural moisture of the atmosphere. 

136. Q. What is white frost? Frost. 
A. It is frozen dew. 

137. Q. Why is moonlight said to be cold? Cold Night. 
A. Because on moonlight nights the radiation is rapid, there are no 

clouds to stop it. 

138. Q. Which is the leading fruit-growing section of the country ? Fruits. 
A. listonishing as has been the increase in fruit growing in the old 

States, it cannot be compared to the astonishing developments in California, 
one day's shipment in 1893 from Los Angeles, California, being two 



30 



QUERIES AXn AXSWKRS. 



XJtue. 



LJme. 



Ashes. 



StaMo 
Mitituro. 



Soils. 



Skin 
Substances 



S\ibsoil. 

Peat. 
Feat. 

AUiivtniu. 
Rotation. 



CheiuU-al 
•Vctlon. 



luuulroil inui tiMi c:\i-s of groon and ainnoil fruit, !\t an average valuation 
of $1)000. or one and ono-quartor millions of dollars. 

A single California grower of. Hartlotte pears sliipped in 1S92 scveuty- 
llve cars from the trees ot one raneh. 

130. (.J. Why is it that lime can be advantageously applied to many 
soils ? 

A. Because by its chemical action it sets free ammonia from depths 
below the reach of the plow. 

140. Q. How should ordinary lime be applied? 

A. It should bo lust roduood to a powder by a slacking process, and, 
when perfectly dry, spread evenly upon the surface, care being taken to 
break any lumps. 

141. Q. Of what value are unleached wood ashes as a fertilizer? 

A. Valuing poUish at 5 ceut^ per pound, and insoluble phosphoric acid 
at 5 cents per pound, hanlwcHxl ashes, as produced in ordinary stoves, is 
worth about $13 per ton. 

140. Q. Is it proper to apply stable manure simultaneously with lime? 

A. No ; no manure of any kind should be applied with lime, as its value 
would be reduced. It would be best not to apply such manure for two 
or three months after an application of lime. 

14;>. Q. What constitutes a loamy soil? 

A. Loam is a mixed material of earth formed of disintegnited rocks 
and generally found reiuoved from the locality of its origin. It is more 
fertile than clay, containing more vegetable matter. 

144. Q. What are the two principal substances in soil ? 

A. The orgi\nic, as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen, products 
of substances once endowed with life. The inorganic, wholly mineral, as 
oxygen, sulphur, phosphorus, carbon, silica, potash, lime, soda, and iron. 

145. Q. Is a good subsoil important to a garden ? 

A. Very important, as a clay, near the surface, keeps the surface satu- 
rated with water after a una, causing it to be cold, or if the subsoil be of 
gnivel and near the surface it passes otV surface moisture too rapidly. 

14(5. Q. IK>w may peaty soils be improved ? 

A. By draining and by burning the surfoce. 

147. Q. IIow are peaty soils formed ? 

A. They are composed of mosses and water plants mixed with sand 
and clay deposited by water, the whole amalgamated into a spongy mass. 

14S. Q. IIow are alluvial soils formed? 

A. By a deposit of sand and earth by water. These soils are generally 
remarkably fertile. 

149. Q. Why is rotation of crops practiced ? 

A. Various plants require ditlereut foods ; without rotation a soil would 
be exhausted of those elements mostly used by the plant cultivated. 

150. Q. Why do ditVennit results follow the application of the same ma- 
nure upon soils apparently similar? 

A. Because of distinct chemical action iu the soil of dilTereut localities, 



QUERIE3 AND ANSWERS. '^I 

character of fert.l.z.ng dements remaining in the soil from previous manur- 

151. Q. What are the inorganic constituents ? „ 
astotlsror'nme.' "'""' '"''""' '''''''''' ^'^" '"^'^ ^^^'^ -'-'^'-tion. ^o".ut„ent.. 

152. Q. How is potash extracted from plants ? p , ^ 

153. Q. How is soda obtained from plants? 

A It is found most largely in the ashes of sea weeds, but is present in 
small quantity in the ashes of all plants. ^ " 

154. q. How is lime obtained from plants 

ve^,;..^: ";:«:""■ ""^ - ■""^'^ "" •-''»■ « ^ f»™» » pan -'^ a.. '°- 

155. Q What is phosphate of lime ? 

A. It is a combination of phosphoric acid with lime. It is the princi ^--'''' ^' 
pa portK^n of bones, the other portions being gelatine and fat. ' 

A. 11 IS round in a limited extent n nearly all soils hnt it ic « ,.;«„• n 

ioi. q. liow do plants Obtain hydrogen ? 

loy Q. i< rom whence do plants obtain nitrogen ? 
_ A. Principally through their roots, taken up in a form of ammonia It 

1 ri r^ r/ ' ^''° ^^'P""" ^'''■°Sen by their leaves. 
elements °^ ^^^'^^^''^^^'^^^ ''^ varying proportions between simple "on«. 

160. Q. What are the organic constituents of plants ? Organic 

sugar an'd gum. ' '"'"^'^ '' ^^^^^*^^« '''^' ^^P'^ ^-^^ Btarch. Con.u^e^t,. 

IGl. Q. What is hydrogen ' 

A. HydrogeD, like oiygen, is known in a state of ga, and is fr,„nH • "'*"'"• 

ib^. C^. What IS nitrogen ' 

A. Nitrogen is also a gas, without smell, taste or color, and is found in ''""^"' 

'lor^r Zr;: ;:;ri::tzr-^"---- _ 

table matter. ^ °^^^ ^'^'^"^ decaymg vege- 

164. Q. How do plants get their oxygen ? o 

A. From water, which they imbibe through their roots and h. ,i. • ^^**"* 

process of leaf inspiration. They also give^ut Txy^ rhen'ft L'in 



32 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Plant 
Urowth. 

Elomeiit. 



Carbon. 



OxjK«'n. 



Trratniont of 
Muiuire. 



Muniirc 
Odor. 



Horse Dnng;. 



Nitrogen. 



Sulphuric 
Acid. 



Phosphate of 
lauie. 



Guano. 



Barnjrartl 
l>lanure. 



1G5. Q. What are the principal chemicals influencing plant growth? 
A. Carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. 

166. Q. What i8 an element? 

A. An element is a body composed of one kind of matter. Carbon, 
oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen are elements, but when combined with 
other substances the new formations are called compounds. 

167. Q. What is carbon? 

A. It is an element forming a large proportion of vegetable substance. 
A familiar form of carbon is charcoal. 

168. Q. What is oxygen? 

A. An element known only in a state of gas. It is without taste, 
smell or color ; it is found in water, air, and in minerals, and is necessary 
to the continuance both of plant and animal life. 

169. Q. Should manure be kept in piles or heaps? 

A. Yes, and covered up with soil, as by putrefaction in the open air, five 
per cent, of the nutritive matter will be lost in a month, whereas, if piled 
and covered, the gases are cooled and absorbed by the external covering. 

170. Q. Why do manure heaps emit a pungent odor? 

A. Because of the gases generated in fermentation, principally sul- 
phuretted and phosphuretted hydrogen. 

171. Q. Why is horse dung hotter than the excrement from cows? 

A. The excrement of horses fed on grain contains a greater amount of 
nitrogen and less water than that from other farm animals, consequently 
it ferments more rapidly 

173. Q. What effect has nitrogen on plants? 

A. It increases the foliage, lengthens the stems of the plants, and pro- 
longs their growth. 

173. Q. Why is sulphuric acid applied to bones intended for fertilizing? 
A. Because the phosphate of lime in the bone is the chief manurial 

substance and a larger portion of it is made quickly active as plant food 
by the application of the sulphuric acid. The resultant of the bones thus 
treated is afterwards known as superphosphate of lime. 

174. Q. Is phosphate of lime soluble? 
A. It is very slowly soluble, especially in dry seasons. Superphosphate 

of lime is extremely soluble. Phosphate of lime continues to exercise a 
slow but beneficial effect upon fertility, while superphosphate of lime, 
expending itself in half the period, is a more profitable application. 

175. Q. What is Peruvian guano? 

A. It is the excrement from sea birds, and when good contains lime, 
potash, siHla, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen, the two last 
named being the most valuable. 

176. Q. Is it true that land never tires of barnyard manure? 

A. Yes, it is ; because stable dung contains all the ingredients and is in 
a 8tj\te ready almost for immediate use by growing plants. Sometimes, 
however, it is advantageous to cease the use of farmyard manure and 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 33 

apply manufactured fertilizers to reduce the number of insects and to 
afford an opportunity to cleanse the soil of weeds. 

177. Q. Do tlie qualities of animal excrement differ? Excrement. 
A. Very widely ; depending not only on the food supplied, but on the 

race ; as cows, horses, pigs and slieep require and assimilate or reject dif- 
ferent chemical constituents. 

178. Q. What effect has lime on plants? 

A. It generally shortens the period of growth and hastens the time of Lime, 
ripening. 

179. Q. Is there a varying influence depending upon the moon's phases The Moon. 
exercised on vegetation ? 

A. No ; not to the slightest degree. Tlie peasantry of all nations, 
from days of earliest record to the present day, have sucli a belief, and 
regulate seed sowing, fence maliing, roofing, l^iiling of meat, and other 
farm and domestic duties by the moon's phases ; but there is not, to any 
degree, any foundation for the practice. 

Analogous to this tiiere is tlie belief that it is dangerous to sleep under 
the moon's rays, and that insane persons are more visibly affected during 
certain conditions of tlie moon ; but this is an exploded idea. 

180. Q. What are the properties of light on vegetation ? Light. 
A. Light has three properties : 

(1). Luminosity. 

(2). Heat. 

(3.) A chemical property termed actinism. 

181. Q. What effect have the rays of the sun upon vegetation ? Sun Effect. 
A. The luminous rays excite and quicken the vital action of growing 

plants by which tliey decompose carbonic acid gas. 

183. Q. What are the effects of solar heat? Solar Oeat. 

A. It influences vegetation from the shooting of the germ to the perfec- 
tion of the fruit or seed ; under solar heat the flowers of plants consume 
oxygen while at the same time the leaves are emitting it. 

183. Q. What is the effect of actinism? Actinism. 
A. It quickens vegetation. Seeds will germinate in darkness, but to 

vegetate freely they must have light. 

184. Q. What is the distinction between germination and vegetation? Ocnninution 
A. Germination is the putting forth of a bud or germ. Vegetation is"*" 

tbe condition of subsequent growth. Vegetation. 

185. Q. Is it economical to make liquid manure by soaking stable ma- l,i,,„1(1 
nure in vats of water. Manure. 

A. Yes, because the valuable portions of the manure become tlioroughly 
amalgamated by fermentation, and the process of decomposition is com- 
pleted before the manure is applied to the crop Manure, in liquid form, 
is very thoroughly and efl[lciently applied to the soil. 

186. Q. Why does decaying cabbage smell so badly ? Vegetable 
A. Because of the escape of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. Decay. 



S4: 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Autumn 
Coloring of 
Leaves. 



Glucose. 



Paris Green. 



Fertility of 
L.and. 



Condition of 
Farmers. 



Af»Tl<^"ltural 
Depression. 



Farm 
Dislike. 



A(;rlcultural 
niacliiuery. 



Railroads. 



187. Q. Is frost the cause of the brilliant coloring of Autumn leaves? 
A. No; generally a physico-chemical phenomenon allied to the ripening 

of fruit, a decrease of vital power, resulting often from injury, intlicted in 
early growth, as from lightning stroke, barking by cattle, from soil stamp- 
ing by cattle.or occasionally it is the result of a want of nutrition conse- 
quent on a hot dry Summer and Autumn. At other times, consequent 
upon the swelling of the next year's buds at the base of the leaf stems, 
cutting off the circulation. These and other physical causes render the 
plant juices susceptible to chemical changes, producing colors of varying 
degree. 

188. Q. What is glucose? 

A. A form of sugar generally made from Indian corn. It naturally 
occurs in varying degrees in the juice of plants and is produced in largo 
quantities from Indian corn and used in various commercial ways. For 
table purposes it is not used, being inferior to cane sugar. 

189. Q. Is Paris green, being a form of arsenic, dangerous to use upon 
potatoes, tomatoes and egg plants? 

A. Never dangerous on potatoes, only dangerous on tomatoes and egg 
plants after they have developed half-sized fruit, as it might be carried to 
the table. 

190. Q. Is the fertility of the land in the old States maintained ? 
A. No ; it has decreased. 

First, there being too much dependence placed upon commercial fertil- 
izers, and second, through a want of knowledge of the good old agricul- 
ture practices of rotation of crops and green manuring. 

191. Q. Do farmers in the old States live better than formerly ? 

A. They did much better for fifteen or sixteen years after the war of 
1861-1865, but are now, by reason of the agricultural depression, returning 
to antebellum conditions of domestic affairs. 

192. Q. What are the general causes of the agricultural depression ? 
A. It is a condition of things which extends over the entire agricultural 

world. Tlie cause is overproduction, brought about by the introduction 
of labor-saving machines and railroad extension, leading to overcropping. 
The labor of suppl^'ing the world with food has been diminished. One 
man now does the work of fifty. 

193. Q. Why do the young people quit the farm ? 

A. Young Americans as a rule are not disposed to engage in the labori- 
ous work of a farm ; they prefer to embark in commerce or manufiictures. 

194. Q. Has there been a profit to farmers by the development of labor- 
saving machines? 

A. No ; not a profit, only a convenience. The cheapening of farm pro- 
ducts by the use of machines has been one of the causes of overproduc- 
tion, and the prevalent agricultural depression. 

195. Q. Does the building of railroads increase the value of lands? 

A. Yes ; they increase the value of farms within a mile or so of stations ; 
but railroads often decrease lauds laying further off, as by the prolonga- 
tion of the tracks new competing territory is developed. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 35 

196. Q. Does the development of manufacturing villages increase the Production. 
value of the production of the adjacent farms? 

A. Not to any great extent ; not bej'ond the saving of freight from other 
points, as prices are generally regulated by *,he rates prevalent at the large 
centres of commercial trade. 

197. Q. Do the people living la the cities generally profit by the low Low Prices, 
prices brought about by the agricultural depression ? 

A. No ; for wliile the raising of Western beef is almost unprofitable to 
the herdsmen, the people of the cities pay almost as mucii as formerly, the 
profits going to the middle men, who by the use of immense capital drive 
out all competitors and keep the retail prices up. 

198. Q. Is the tendency la the old sections of the country to divide Division of 
farms or to unite them? Farms. 

A. In the old States to divide, farms going into the hands of smaller 
operators. 

199. Q. IIow much labor on the large farms of Dakota does it take Farm Labor, 
to provide bread for 1000 persons? 

A. The labor of each man employed, estimating his employment as con- 
tinuous for twelve months, is 5500 bushels. Another man's labor for a 
year converts this wheat into flour ; five men's labor for a year transfers it 
to Philadelphia ; three more convert it into bread and sell it, thus ten men 
working one year produce bread for 1000 mouths. 

Continuing in this line of calculation based upon the use of labor-sav- 
ing machinery, if twenty men make the clothing, twenty more build the 
houses, twenty more provide the literature and amusements, twenty more 
manage the public offices and ten more provide miscellaneous necessi- 
ties, we thus have 100 adults providing all the necessities for 1000 
mouths. If 1000 mouths represent 200 men, we perceive that while 100 
of these men have employment all the year round the other 100 are idle, 
consequent upon the development of machine processes and the expansion 
of railroads and opening of new lands. 

200. Q. Are the agricultural lauds in any of the States worked to their ABricnltural 
full capacity? Capacity. 

A. They are not ; American farmers have no conception what it is to 
work land to its full capacity of production. The most intensely culti- 
vated gardens in the United States do not yield more than the aver- 
age production of whole districts at France, Belgium and Holland, and 
yet tiie quantity of grain harvested of crop 1891 was 3,538,000,000 
bushels. 

201. Q. Does subsoiling pay? Subfloillng. 
A. Yes; on all lands having a retentive subsoil, as such holds so much 

moisture as to retard healthy plant development, as such soils also do the 
unrestricted development of tap root and deep running fibres. 

Such soils should be broken up by a subsoil plow or coulter afi^xed to 
a plow beam and run in the bottom of every open furrow, after a common 



36 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



steam 
Plowing. 



Systems. 



plow. Another system of breaking subsoil on fields where a root crop is 
contemplated is, after the field has been plowed and harrowed, to trench 
out at three feet, and in every open trench to run a subsoil plow or coulter 
breaking the hard part, apply the feriilizer, ridge over by splitting the 
standing ridges, draw down to a flat surface, and drill the seed directly 
over the fertilizer, and over the deeply broken bed through which will 
freely drain all superfluous moisture and into which the roots can deeply 
delve. 

Sandy soils, which do not retain moisture, nor offer impediments to the 
downward development of roots as carrots, parsnips or mangolds, do not 
require subsoiling. 

202. Q. Why has not steam plowing been popular in the United States? 
A. For two reasons : 

First. In the old Slates the farms are not large enough to warrant the 
purchase of such expensive apparatus, the cost being $10,000 to $20,000, 
according to style and size. 

Second. On the large farms of the "West ; far removed from well-ap- 
pointed machine shops, the difHculty in making repairs and the diflicully 
in holding expert machinists, are all serious. 

The writer has known of the importatioa of two complete sets of plow- 
ing engines and tackle of Fowler's make, each costing about $18,000, 
neither of which ever paid the freight. 

The writer worked on Bloomsdale farm during the Summers of '71 and 
'72, endeavoring to perform plowing by direct traction by the use of a 
three wheel rubber-tired Scotch engine, but gave up the scheme as im- 
practicable. 

203. Q. Describe briefly the methods of plowing by steam? 

A. In Europe there are three distinct systems of drawing the plows, 
harrows, etc., etc. 

First. The direct system, by which self-propelling steam engines pass 
over the land and drag tlie implements. This is very wasteful of power 
and impracticable on soft or slippery soil. 

Second. The rope and tcindlass system, under which the locomotive re- 
mains on the headland, and pulls the implements back and forth, by 
means of a wire rope winding on a drum beneath the engine and across 
the field to the opposite headland, where it winds around a similar drum 
on a second engine, or around a drum on an anchored windlass. The im- 
plements being in gangs of plows, cultivators or harrows. 

In New Jersey there has been built a completely designed farm traction 
engine for chopping the earth instead of plowing it. This new system, 
one of many knives revolving rapidly, was conceived at and first tested 
on Bloomsdale Farm, August, 188t5, the chopping attachment being ap- 
plied to a steam farm spader, then being tried. The cutting arrangements 
are of many independent, rapidly revolving knives, chopping out slivers 
of earth something similar to the chips of wood cut by a steam planer. 
Such a system of choppers does not take so much power as required to 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 37 

draw plows and it bids fair to be practicable, particularly as after the pas- 
sage of the engine the earth is left in the condition of an absolutely perfect 
seed bed six to eight inches deep. 

204. Q. In draining land where there is very slight declivity state the Draining. 
least fall from which a good result can be expected? 

A. Half an inch to every sixteen feet, though one-quarter of an inch in 
sixteen feet has been known to work well on a line of open drain of 1000 
feet 

205. Q. How shall I make the cheapest and simplest level for use by Draining 
ordinary farm laborers in ditch digging? Leve . 

A. Decide first on the pilch or declivity of the ditch or drain. 

If, for example, one inch in sixteen feet is desired, then take a sixteen- 
Joot board and plane ofT both edges perfectly straight, and of equal width 
from end to end, then with a chalk line mark off on one side an oblique 
line from one inch to nothing and rip out. Next procure a carpenter's 
spirit level. 

"When digging the ditch, shovel the earth out so that when the leveling 
board is placed with the wide end down the ditch, it will rest all of its 
length on the lower edge on the earth and place the carpenter's spirit 
level upon the top smooth edge, thus indicating the true level, when the 
pitch will be one inch every sixteen feet or five feet in a 1000. 

206. Q. Is there any foundation in fact for the popular belief among Superstition, 
horsemen that a horse with white hoofs must necessarily have soft feet ? 

A. Veterinary surgeons say, if there is any appreciable diSerence in 
density of pigmented or non-pigraented hoofs it is so slight as to make no. 
practical difference as to soundness or usefulness. 

207. Q. How many acres does the United States Land Office sell an- Land Saiea. 
Dually ? 

A. In the year 1889, the sales amounted to 19,000.000 acres. 

208. Q. Wliat proportion of our agricultural productions are sent to Exports, 
foreign countries? 

A. About one-tenth — a small proportion after all — and yet it is a greater 
percentage than the agricultural exports of any other country. This ex- 
port is not likely to reach a greater proportion, as the nine-tenths will 
always be needed at home, and as many otlier nations are sending to the 
purchasing countries their surplusses of the same kind of productions. 
Our export trade if increased must be in the line of concentrated articles 
as cheese, butter, canned fruit and vegetables. The annual value of our 
farm productions exported amounts to about $400,000,000, with the agri- 
cultural imports just about equal to the exports. 

209. Q. Among the importations, what agricultural products are they American 
which American farms should produce ? Productions. 

A. First. Sugar, the amount imported being equal in value to our wheat 
and flour exported. 

Second. Flax, hemp and other fibre imports, which amount in value to 
nearly the total value of our boasted cotton crops. 

Third. Fruit, of which $20,000,000 worth are annually imported. 



33 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Corn and 



Gom. 

Exports. 

Wheat. 

Exports. 

Wheat 
Export. 

Yield. 

Wheat to 
Fopulntioii. 

Oats. 
Oats. 

Buckwheat. 

Barley. 

Rye. 

Cereals. 
Potatoes. 



Hay. 



210. Q. What is the proportion to each inhabitant of corn consumed 
domestically and in the arts, in the United States? 

A. About thirty-five bushels, an amount greater than the per capita 
consumption of anj' cereal in the world. 

211. Q. What is the average yield per acre of corn in the United States? 
A. Twenty-four bushels or about one and one-sixth acres grown to 

each one of the population of sixty-live million, the product valued at 
$675,000,000. 

212. Q. What proportion of corn and cornmeal is exported ? 
A. Not over four per cent. 

213. Q. IIow much wheat is annually grown in the United States? 
A. 4(50.000,000 bushels, grown on 35,000,000 acres. 

214. Q. IIow much is annually exported? 
A. About 125,000,000 bushels. 

215. Q. Is the exportation of wheat likely to increase ? 

A. No ; the western nations of Europe are our only customers, and 
they draw from every quarter of the globe. The 150,000,000 bushels 
required in excess of their production they buy where they can get it 
the cheapest, and probably in the future will purchase less from us. 

216. Q. What is the average yield per acre in the United States? 
A. Twelve bushels. 

217. Q. What is the proportion between the average acreage of wheat 
and the population ? 

A. Something over one-half aero of wheat to each inhabitant — 
or 7 bushels to each inhabitant. 

218. Q. IIow many acres are annually cultivated in oats? 
A. About 21,000,000. 

219. Q. What is the average production per acre of oats? 
A. Twenty-seven bushels. 

220. Q. Of buckwheat, how much is grown annually ? 

A. About 1,000,000 acres, average twelve bushels to the acre. 

221. Q. "What quantity ot barley is grown in the United States ? 
A. 3,000,000 acres, producing twenty-one bushels to the acre. 

222. Q. What is the annual area of rye in this country ? 

A. Slightly less th;in 3,000,000, producing an average of twelve bushels 
to the acre. 

223. Q. What is the average production of all the cereals per head of 
our population of 65,000.000? 

A. About fifty-two bushels per head, immensely greater than that of 
any other country in the world. 

234. Q. Wliat is the annual production of potatoes in this country? 

A. About 200,000,000 bushels, produced on 2,750,000 acres, an average 
of nearly 3 bushels to each inhabitant. Total crop valued at $91,000,000. 

225. Q. IIow much hay is produced in the United States? 

A. Nearly 50.000,000 tons from about 40,000,000 acres, the estimated 
value of the product being $400,000,000. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 39 

226. Q. "What are the agricultural statistics of tobacco? Tobacco. 
A. Nearly 600,000,000 pounds grown on about 750,000 acres, valued 

at 850,000,000. 

227. Q. What are the statistics as to farm live stock In the United Live stock. 
Stales? 

A. The number of animals taken from the last report of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture placed horses at 14,000,000, mules 2,300,000, milch 
cows at 16,000.000, oxen and beeves at 37,000,000, sheep 45,000,000, and 
hogs 53,000,000, valued at $3,420,000,000. 

228. Q. What is the principal cause of fluctuations in prices of agricul- nuotuatlons, 
tural productions? 

A. The varying meteorological conditions of the season of growth in 
each of the 3000 counties of the Union. No legitimate pursuit of man is 
so great a lottery as agriculture. 

229. Q. What plants are used as salads ? Salads. 
A. Very little beyond lettuce, endive, corn salad, cress and mustard, is 

known by American gardeners of the wide variety of foliage-bearing 
plants used in Europe as salads, served uncooked and boiled. Beet tops, 
succeeding spinach, are a favorite dish in England. 

Radish seed pods, succeeding the pithy roots, are, when small, very 
delicate, and used to a large extent in France. 

Cardoon, chicory, dandelion, nasturtium, scurvy grass, sorrel, sea- 
kale, Swiss chard, turnip tops, are all favorites, and their extended use, 
adds much to the profit of a garden and the enjoyment of a family in the 
country. 

230. Q. How is cauliflower cultivated ? Cauliflower. 
A. This delicious plant, like broccoli and French artichoke, is distin- 
guished from other table vegetables by producing edible flower heads. By 

long years of selection and culture of some accidental natural variation of 
this plant of the cabbage family discovered In the Middle Ages, tiie 
floweis of the cauliflower have been, to a large extent, rendered abor- 
tive, and the flower stems multiplied, shortened and thickened till they 
have been bred to form a half-globular compact crown or head which, 
when cooked, is tender as marrow, and the choicest of all esculent vege- 
tables. Varying willi climatic and soil conditions, the seed is sown at all 
seasons. In hotbeds at close of Winter, out of doors when the apple is In 
bloom, again when the oak is in full leaf, again at Mlilsummer, and 
again during Winter under glass. The young plants are treated 
the same as cabbage, and the larger plants require the same rich fer- 
tilization and culture — indeed more intense culture, as only those cauli- 
flowers are good which are grown quickly. We offer only seed of the 
highest quality. The early varieties are most likely to succeed in the 
hands of inexperienced growers. Sow the early sorts in seed-beds 
beginning of Autumn, keep them in a "cold frame," protected by sash 
from severe frost during the Winter, and transplant into deep and very 
rich ground as soon as frost ceases. Handglasses or boxes placed over 



40 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



them at night, when they are put out, are useful. It should be observed, 
however, that success is very uncertain in dry localities. In Pennsyl- 
vania the cauliflower seldom heads well unless under glass, or in cold 
frames. But there is little difhculty in having fine caulillowers when 
planted in frames under glass, at close of Winter, so as to advance them 
ahead of the early Summer heat. The late varieties mature in Autumn, 
and are sown at the same time, and managed similarly to cabbage. They 
do best in localities where the atmosphere is damp and saline, as on the 
coast. We mayadd that caulitlower can only be grown on rich, well-tilled, 
well-watered soil, and that it can hardly be overfed. 
Kohl-Rabi. 231. Q. What is kohl-rabi? 

A. This plant, used both for table and for cattle feeding, is a cabbage in 
which the cultural development has been directed to the stalk, not to the 
leaf. The enlarged stalks, taking the globular form of turnips, are more 
hardy and nutritious than turnips. 

Any good soil will produce a crop, the plants for which may be grown 
like cabbage in seed beds for transplanting, or sown in permanent posi- 
tion in three-feet rows. 

Sow the seed for table use at any period when cabbage maj' be sown. 
Drill in rows at two feet and thin to six inches. 

For cattle feeding drill the seed in Midsummer for Autumn develop- 
ment. Yield 300 to 400 bushels to the acre. 
Egg Plant. 233. Q. Give cultural directions for egg plant. 

This seed is generally sown under glass and transplanted to the field two 
or three weeks after corn-planting season. The plants are set in rows of 
five feet and at three feet in the row. The laud cannot be too highly fer- 
tilized for this crop — very short, thoroughly rotted stable manure or simi- 
lar preparation is best ; strong manure, or hot. rank manure, is unsuitable. 
Sow in hotbeds or other protected place early in tiie Spring ; when up 
two or three inches transplant into small pots (which plunge in earth), so 
as to get stocky, well-rooted plants, and late in the Spring, or not till the 
commencement of Summer, unless the weather be warm, transplant into 
thoroughly worked, rich and recently well-manured ground. A good 
plan is to open a deep, wide trench, filling it nearly with manure ; restore 
the earth and plant therein, placing the plants three feei apart each way. 
The seed does not vegetate freely ; repeated sowings are sometimes neces- 
sary. It is almost useless to attempt the culture of egg plant unless the 
proper attention be given. In growing the egg plant in the Summer and 
Autumn months in Florida, great trouble is sometimes experienced ia 
getting a stand of plants owing to the excessive heat and beating rains. 
This difficulty can be largely overcome by shading the ground where the 
seed is sown. If sown in beds, the shading may be accomplisiied by 
means of frames covered with seed-bed cloth, or by blinds of slats or 
common boards properly supported over the beds to cut off the direct rays 
of the sun. If the seed is sown where the plants are to remain (a bad 
practice) the shading may be done by using palmetto fans or leaves, plac- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 41 

ing them one each on the north and south side of the hill, the tops meeting 
over tlie seed. This plan is used by some of the most successful growers 
in the Gulf States. 

About 3000 plants are required to plant an acre. These plants should 
produce an average of three to four fruits, weighing two to three pounds 
each. Our selected seeds are always taken from fruit weighing eight *,o 
ten pounds each ; we have had them of thirteen pounds in weight. Cora- 
mission merchants in Philadelphia pay the market gardener about, on an 
average, one-and-ahalf cents per fruit. The highest prices are eight and 
ten cents per fruit. 

Florida fruit arrives in Philadelphia the latter part of November, and 
commands $6 to $8 per barrel crate. Earlier in the Autumn the market 
is supplied by fruit from Jersey. Towards Christmas the price of Florida 
egg plant rises to $10 per barrel crate and then declines by April to $6 to 
$8, and by May to $5, after which they are likely to arrive in a damaged 
condition and be worthless. Egg plant fruit can be grated and canned 
for Winter use. 

233. Q. Why don't I succeed with lettuce? Lettuce. 
A. To have fine lettuce in early Spring, sow in seed-bed from com- 
mencement to middle of Autumn. During Winter protect the plants by 

a box covered with window or other sash, or with litter, as they stand on 
the ground. Early in the Spring transplant some into rich ground. The 
others force under the sash. Or in early Spring sow in a hotbed and 
transplant, but Autumn-sown plants are best. For a later supply, sow in 
drills when the cherry is in bloom ; when up a few inches thin out, leav- 
ing plants at proper distances ; this is a better plan than transplanting 
late in the season. For tliis purpose use Bloomsdale Reliable, Landretbs' 
Forcing, Virginia Solid Header and Heat-resisting varieties, which we have 
selected as standard sorts by reason of their ability to redst heat and the 
longer time they are in condition for the table than some other kinds 
which shoot to seed as soon as the head is formed. 

234. Q. How should asparagus be planted ? Asparagus. 
A. This plant succeeds best on sandy soil, though reclaimed marsh 

land, when freed from water, is admirably adapted to its culture ; the 
lighter the soil the earlier the plants shoot in the Spring. Of whatever 
character the ground may bo, it should be well cleared of trash or other 
incumbrances, and in a good state of cultivation. The land is prepared 
by opening deep trenches six or eight feet apart, by passing a two-horse 
plow twice to each furrow, throwing a furrow slice to the right and left, 
and finally cleaning and deepening the furrow by a third passage of the 
plow. The roots are planted in the bottom of the furrow, at eighteen 
inches apart, and covered by an inch of soil. 

Stable manure may be applied in the furrow before the roots are placed, 
or on top of the roots after they are covered. 

North of the latitude of Washington, Spring planting, when the apple 
is in bloom, is considered to give the best results, but south of Washing- 



42 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

ton Fall plaining lias proven the best. Wo can ship asparagus roots, 
from October to Marcli, to any point within 1000 miles, but they must be 
planted as soon as received, as if exposed to the air are soon injured in 
vigor. 

If the rows be six feet apart, about GOOO plants are required to plant an 
neio ; if at eight feet apart, 4000 plants are required to tlie acre. 

One-year-old well-developed roots are better than older ones. When 
well planted and fertilized a cutting of stalks can bo made about three 
times the second year alter planting. Cutting should not be continued 
too late in the Spring or the roots will become exhausted if the shoots are 
uot allowed to develop fully, forof course it must be uudei-slood the leaves 
are tlie lungs of the plants. After cutting has ceased the ground should 
bo worked by plowing away from the rows and manuring alongside, 
after which the earth should be thrown back. Twenty bushels *)f salt to 
the acre, sown broadcast, ma}' be used to advantage annually. The roots 
of asparagus (though some pcnolrate six and eight feet in depth) are, 
many of them, inclined to run near the surface ; the cultivator should ac- 
cordingly, as far as possible, aim at tiat culture. Early crops, like peas, 
may be profitably grown between the rows of asparagus for the first two 
or three yeare. Asparagus can be bleached and made especially tender 
b}' mulching or covering with six inches of fine cut haj', straw or leaves. 

A season's cutting covers eight to ten weeks, and profitable cutting 
continues up to ten years from planting, after which time the beds are 
considered unprofitable by market gardeners. 

From 800 to 1500 two pound bunches of asparagus can be cut to the 
acre, and a good field-hand can cut 150 bunches in a day. In the Philadel- 
phia market asparagus bunches are always made to weigh two pounds, 
aud vary from ten to fiftj' stalks to the bunch, according to condition of 
culture. A skillful workman can trim, wash, pack and tie about 300 
bunches in a day. At the New York market green pointed "grass" is 
demanded, the rhiladelpliia market calls for white-pointed. Both colors 
are found in the same field. The price obtained in the Philadelphia 
market by truckers from commission men is on an average ten cents per 
bunch, never lower than eight cents, though sometimes the price paid by 
commission men is forty to fifty cents. 

Asparagus is always in demand, such a thing as the market being 
seriously glutted with it never occurs. The variety known as the Colossal 
is the best, producing shoots often one inch in diameter, and sometimes 
as many as fil'ty to the plant. 

One pound of asparagus seed will produce 2500 plants. The seed may 
be sown when the cherry is in bloom or among the earliest operations in 
the Spring, and is usually drilled in rows of ten inches. If the land be 
friable, fertile and well cultivated, these seedlings can bo set out the next 
Spring. 
Fr«»nch ~;>>">. Q Give directions as to planting French artichoke? 

.cVrtlciiuke. A. This plant may be grown from seed sown when the cherry is in 



QUKRTES AND ANSWERS. 4S 

bloom or from Buckers taken from cstablislK'd plants. If the flced be sown 
lli(! pluntH may be rained in 1)<;(1h and tranHpliinlcd. The BcedlingB or sets 
Hliould Ik; planted out in rows at four feet apart, at ei^liteen inelies to liio 
row. Artichoke in a congenial climate will Hland for Hcveral years, but 
BiicccBS with it in the United Statea cannot be expecte<l north of the 
cotton belt. It iH a French vegetable, the (lower budH of which are eaten. 

236. Q. How are muHhroomB grown ? iviuMhroomn. 
A. The culture of mushrooms to the initiated is very easy, l)ut it is a 

Buliject of much difficulty to the novice. We cannot attempt here to give 
at length the necesBary directions, but refer tlie inquirer to Br)me of the 
various pul>Iicalion8 upon the subject. 

IMiint one pound ot spawn to ttie Bcpiare foot. Kept on Bale in the form 
ui hrick». Tiie sj)avvn is jilanted in dark pits, caveB, in outdoor hotbeds, 
or on banks of compost. Per brick of about 1 J pounds, I.! cents. 

Any mushroom, or toad stool, the stem of whicli underground springs 
from a cup or socket, or whicli has ar)y suggestion of such a socket, 
Bliould be Bet down as poiflonous. The most intensely poisonous of muHh- 
rooms — the Amariata bulb/S'i and the Amariata vernus—aro generally 
found in the woods, tliougii flr)metime3 in the open Held. They are posi- 
tively deadly, taking ed'ect in about ten liours alter eating. 

237. (-1. How are onion sets grown V Onion Hntn. 
A. Drill, when the a()plo is in bloom, sixty to Heventy-flve pounds of 

seed to the acre. At Midsurntner, or wiienover tlie tops die, remove tlie 
small i)uit)B, buttons or nets, as they are indill'erently called, produced l)y 
tills process, to a dry place. In the Autumn, or early in the following 
Si)ring, replant them in rows, the sets two inches apart, the rows wide 
enough to )ioe between them. Observe: If uot sown quite thickly in the 
first instance, they attain too large a size, and when replanted slKJOt to 
seed. 

In growing onions for tlie market, either from seed or sets, an unusually 
large size is not to be desired, two to three iriclies in diameter (jeing about 
the most desirable size for sliijjping. A vigorously growing onion crop 
frequently can be hastened to early rii)ening at near tlie desired size by 
simply slopping the vigor of growtli by running a scullle hoe under the 
bulbs on one Bide bo as to cut off one-lialf the roots. Such a course of 
treatment will reduce the excess of vigor and forward maturity. If the 
grower awaits tlie development of mammolli onions, or even large ones, 
he fre(pi(;ntly lets pass opjiortunities for paying Bales, far more profitable 
llian afterwards realized. 

238. (^. What are IJermuda onions? ncrminlu 
A. An early sort originally grown in Bermuda — now largely grown in Onlon«. 

Florida, Louisiana and Texas and some little in Georgia and Carolina. 

Down the MifisisBi[)pi, below New Orleans, 100,000 barrels of marketable 
onions are grown annually. All the early ones formerly grown were 
known as Creole onions, lialf round and light red, but they are fust being 
supplanted by the IJermudas. 



44: 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



The following table, extracted from Bulletin No. 27, of the Louisiana 
State Experimental Station, clearly shows the relative development of 
size and relative period of maturity to that size. It will be perceived at a 
glance that the Bermudas were nearly twice as large and fifteen to twenly- 
flve days earlier than the Creole. 



Transplanting Onions at Baton Rouge.- 


-Sown in August, 1893. 


Vakikty. 


Average \Vt. 


Earliness. 


*Red Bermuda, transplanted 


4.5 ounces. 
4.5 " 
5 5 " 


April 1 
April 27 
April 15 
April 30 
April 25 
April 25 
^Iiiy 25 
May 30 


Red Bermuda, not transplanted 


White Bermuda transplanted 


White Bermuda, not transplanted 


5 
3 

2.5 •• 
7.8 " 
8 


Louisiana or Creole, transplanted 


Louisiana or Creole, not transplanted 

Prize Taker, transplanted 


Prize Taker, not transplanted 





It will be seen by this that in two cases the average weight was in- 
creased, and also the bulk matured earlier, besides this the nearly perfect 
stand insured by transplanting gave a much increased total yield per 
given length of row. These seeds were sown the last of August, 1893, 
and the plants transplanted when less than one-fourth inch in diameter. 

Fertilizers. B39. Q. Why do commercial fertilizers give the best results in wet 
seasons ? 

A. In wet seasons the repeated and abundant rains completely solve 
the component parts, so that neither in a dry state nor in half solved con- 
dition can they burn the rootlets. 
Germination. 240. Q. Why is it that fresh seeds do not germinate as quickly as old 
Beeds ? 

A. Some old seeds being perfectly dry are more susceptible to a less 
degree of moisture, consequently sprout quickly. 

241. Q. To what age do seeds retain their vitality? 

A. That is a hard question to answer, as so much depends upon condi- 
tions of moisture, heat and soil — but as a rule vegetable seeds are entirely 
dead in eight years for cabbage, turnip and beet ; four years for carrot, 
parsley, spinach ; five years for peas, beans, cucumber, squash, melons ; 
three years for peppers, egg plant, okra, corn. 

242. Q. Why do some experienced gardeners prefer old seeds to fresh 
ones? 

A. Old seeds having less physical force do not develop such vigorous 
plants — do not grow so rampant, and in the case of melons, sciuashes, 
cucumbers, they do not cover so much ground, while setting more truit. 



Vitality of 
Seeds. 



Old Seeds 
Preferred. 



■ Twenty days ahead of the Creole, and four and a half ounces ugalust tlirec ounces. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 45 

243. Q. After a field is inoculated by bringing to it and incorporating soU 

with its surface soil some soil from another field, known to be inhabited inoculation. 
by bacteria or microbes, what is the subsequent action ? 

A. The bacteria or organisms, if they be the right kind, cause, by some 
unknown process the roots of the plants to develop minute nodules or 
tubercles, which, by some action, absorb nitrogen from the air and hold 
it. Four-fifths of the atmosphere is nitrogen. Consequently there is an 
unlimited supply, and if this new scientific discovery can bo more thor- 
oughly understood the entire system of agriculture may be revolution- 
ized as completely as electricity has overturned former systems now obso- 
lete, 

244. Q. Are wrinkled and flattened varieties of peas sweeter and more Peas. 
delicate than smooth round-seeded sorts? 

A. The shriveled form of certain pea seed is indicative of a sugary 
quality, just as the shriveled grains of sugar-corn distinguish its quality 
from the more starcliy field corns. Many of the wrinkled peas possess a 
shelly hull, which, to some people, make them less desirable than the 
Landreth Extra Early or the Bloomsdale pea. Wrinkled half-flat peas 
never seem to possess the same germinative lorce as hard round peas. 

245. Q. What are the best plants for green manuring? Green 

A. All vigorous growers, which can be plowed linder, have a decided Manuring. 
fertilizing influence upon soil, as the turning under returns to the upper 
soil all that the plant had drawn from depths below ; but if to this can be 
added a stock of fertility derived from the air, immense gain is made. 
Now this can be realized by growing plants of the leguminous family, 
as Red clover. Crimson clover. Alfalfa, Cow peas, lupins, all of which, 
beside being potash finders, have the faculty of drawing nitrogen from 
the air, and adding to the soil that which it did not possess before. 
24G. Q. Why is inoculation of soils advised? Soil 

A. To start a growth of bacteria, such as desired. One of the latest dis- inoculation. 
coveries in agriculture is that different kinds of plants, notably those of 
the leguminous family, are aided in their growth by distinct forms of 
bacteria or microbes. Now, a field which has had upon it a crop of 
beans, continues for a time to support the bean microbe, but beans sown 
upon a new field, however rich in potash or phosphoric acid, may want 
nitrogen, which can be obtained in considerable quantity from the air if 
plenty of microbes be present in the soil. By inoculating this new field 
through a top dressing of soil from the old bean field, the development 
of microbes can be greatly advanced and the bean crop enlarged through 
nitrogen stolen from the air. 

247. Q. Is the greatest productiveness found in green or wax-podded Beann. 
beans? 

A. As a rule, in green-podded sorts ; but some wax pods are exceedingly 
prolific, but when most so it is at a loss of quality. 

248. Q. How can I kill crows and sparrows? Crows. 
A. Soak corn in strychnine water. 



46 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Beans. 



Corn. 
Onion Sets. 



Asparagus 
Bug. 



Fungicides. 



Insecticides. 



Fungi. 



Insecticides. 



Lime. 



Salt. 



Fungi. 



249. Q. Which is superior in quality, a round green-podded bean or 
a wax-podded bean ? 

A. Tastes vary. The writer thinks a wax pod always tough. 

250. Q. Which is the best sugar corn for an all-round sort ? 
A. The Landreth and Stowell's Evergreen. 

251. Q. Does freezing injure onion sets ? 

A. Sets kept throughout winter in the latitude of Philadelphia are 
always frozen, and are not injured under careful handling, bat should 
not be handled when the frost is coming out of them. If received in 
frozen condition spread them out to thaw. 

253. Q. Is there any application which I can make to drive off the 
asparagus beetle from my young asparagus beds? 

A. Lime dust applied when the dew is on. 

253. Q. What are the most generally used fungicides? 

A, Compounds of copper and sulphur, particularly ; ammoniacal car- 
bonates of copper and Bordeaux mixture. 

254. Q. Why do some so-called insecticides fail to be eflFective ? 

A. Probably because applied without any knowledge of the nature of 
the insects desired to destroy ; for instance, insects which eat their food 
can be poisoned by mineral applications to the foliage, but insects which 
leedupon the juice of plants obtained by puncturing the skin cannot be 
poisoned by outward applications. The latter can only be destroyed by 
an application of something which will clog up their breathing pores. 

255. Q. What fungi give the most trouble to the farmer and gardener? 
A. Those occurring on the potato, onion, turnip, cabbage, corn, clover, 

wheat. A rotation of crops is effective in overcoming a fungus attack, 
as one which destroys plants of the cabbage family seldom attacks plants 
of a distinct genus, as, for instance, the onion or i^otato. 

256. Q. What are the leading insecticides? 

A. Compounds of arsenic, as Paris green and London purple ; oils and 
soaps, tobacco dust, sulphur, red pepper. 

257. Q. Is lime a good fertilizer ? 

A. Not of very much direct value, but of great importance in render- 
ing available plant foods already in the soil. Lime also preserves the par- 
ticles of soil in a separate coagulated condition, making heavy soils friable 
and pervious to water. It also promotes the formation of nitrates in the 
soil. 

258. Q. Is common salt valuable as a manure? 

A. No, not primarily ; but it may on some soils have a good effect in 
helping to set free more important constituents. It is also useful for 
destroying insects or grubs. 

259. Q. What is this fungi about which so much is now said by the 
scientific papers ? 

A. It is generally a parasitic growth, popularly termed mildew, mold, 
smut, blight or rust. Some of these growths can be prevented, others pal- 
liated and sometimes cured. As a rule, the smallest portions are self- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 47 

productive if not destroyed, for instance, portions of the potato fungus, 
loo small to be seen through a microscope, so small that figures cannot 
express their minuteness, are so potent with life that every atom will grow 
under favorable conditions ; and the spores or reproductive parts of the 
putrefactive fungus of the lettuce plant are so small as to take 1000 to 
equal the size of the foot of a house fly. 

200. Q. Is a coUard a cabbage, and what is its history? CoUard. 

A. Certainly it is one of the cabbage family, just as is the cauliflower 
or Brussels sprouts. It has been cultivated in the cotton States for a cen- 
tury. It may have been derived from a good heading cabbage, or it may, 
as is most probable, have been one of the Cow cabbages, common in parts 
of France — possibly brought over by early French settlers. 

261. Q. From whence oiime most of the cultivated species of plants? Origin of 
A. From Europe and Western Asia. The United States has furnished ^l**"*** 

very few. Maize or Indian corn, the Jerusalem artichoke, and the 
gourds being the only important ones. 

262. Q. I notice the main stems of my lima bean vines are all twisted. Uma Beans. 
Is that a healthy condition ? 

A. It is perfectly natural, as all twining plants have their main stems 
twisted upon the axis of the stem and in the same direction as they turn 
around supports. The extent of such stem twisting is increased or 
diminished according as the supporting stock or pole is rough or smooth. 
The rougher it is the more the new stem twists. Ordinarily, there is 
one twist of the stem for each spiral turn around a support, but some- 
times much more. 

263. Q. Can I make good hay out of oats cut when in green condition? Oats Hay. 
A. Excellent, if dried properly and got under cover without rain. It 

should be cut before showing the seed, otherwise the growth becomes so 
bulky, that cut and laying upon the ground, it cannot be expected to dry, 
except under such dry and hot conditions as almost impossible to antici- 
pate. 

264. Q. I am offered at a Roanoke river fishery 100,000 herring. Are Fish Manure, 
they of value? 

A. Very fertilizing, but very temporary in effect. Only good for one 
year. On our Jersey farm we have used 2.">0,000 herring a year, and on 
our Virginia farm we have used 10,000,000 menhaden a year — a similar 
fish. Thirty to forty thousand broadcasted to the acre and plowed under 
four inches. Some farmers put two fish to a hill of corn. 

265. Q. What is the best grass for planting on sand hills to prevent sand Grass. 
blowing? 

A. Arundo Arenaria, a Dutch grass, planted extensively on the sand 
dunes of Holland. 

266. Q. My beet field is very spotty, that is, uneven in the stand ; the vitality, 
appearance indicating that there was a want of vitality in the seed, that is, 

the germination was very poor ? 
A. If the seed sown upon your field failed in all parts of it to germi- 



48 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cterminatlon. 



Molon 
mildew. 

Potatoes 
Growing. 



Weeds. 



Twining of 
Beaus. 



Toada. 



Climbing 
Plant!*. 



Caniie of 
Climbing. 



Spring 
Wheat. 



Date, then the seed might have beea deficient ia vitality. But, as you 
say it is spotty, it indicates a cause not attributable to the seed, but possi- 
bly to poor tillage, poor sowing, unfavorable conditions of rain fall, heat 
or cold, or possibly to insects over or under ground. If one foot of row 
was good, so should have been a thousand feet, for all the good seed could 
not have got into one place. 

267, Q. Is mildew common to muskmelons ? Mine are covered with it. 
A. Yes. Something lilie grape mildew. It can be held in check by 

spraying with Bordeaux mixture. 

268. CJ. My potatoes stored in cellar have many of them developed new 
young potatoes of an inch in size. What is the cause of tliis? 

A. Probably heat and moisture. It is an old practice in England to 
force such an abnormal growth. In under-glass experiments with pota- 
toes it is quite common for potato eyes to at once produce small but per- 
fect tubers. 

2G6. Q. How many varieties of weeds are there to annoy the farmer? 

A. The New Jersey State Agricultural College exhibited at the Chicago 
Fair 751 species, and that did not comprise one-half of what exist in the 
United States. 

270. Q. Why do beans and other climbing plants twist contrary to 
the course of the sun ? 

A. You are mistaken, as all do not twist the same. Among those 
twisting against the sun are Garden Pole beans, morning glory, jas- 
minum, wistaria, clematis. Among those twisting with the sun are the 
hop vine, honeysuckle, and many others, and some climbers go in both 
directions, as the nasturtium. 

271. Q. My garden is mfested by toads. Do you advise me to kill 
them? 

A. No I They don't harm you or any of your vegetables or flowers, but, 
to the contrar}', eat thousands of insects which might be very destructive. 
In France, gardeners pay tweuty-flve cents apiece for them as insect ex- 
terminators. 

272. Q. IIow many classes of climbing plants are there? 

A. Four classes : 1. Those which twine spirally round a support, as a 
Lima bean. 2. Those which possess irritable organs, which, when 
they touch any object, clasp it, as a clematis. 3. Those which climb up 
by means of hooks, as cucumbers, 4. Those which climb by rootlets, as 
the ivy 

273. Q. Wliat causes the Lima bein, for instance, to climb a pole? 

A. The nerve force seems to be centred in the last formed internode — 
the previously formed one losing its disposition to travel with or against 
the sun. What causes the movement it is impossible to say. 

274. Q. Can I grow in my section of Georgia a crop of Minnesota 
Spring wheat? 

A. No ; not as a Spring-sown crop, but it might do well as an Autumn 
crop same as Winter wheat. Many crops of an annual habit can be 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 49 

turned to a biennial habit — for instance, as a Winter oat treated just like 
wheat. 

275. Q. What is the nature of the dark rusty spots which arc thickly Melon Fang^l. 
appearing on my watermelons, both foliage and fruilV 

A. It is probably a fungus similar with that which spots bean 
pods, and if so, is quite contagious. Young plants can be sprayed with 
Bordeaux mixture, but it is difficult to arrest it even then, as the liquid 
cannot be thoroughly applied to tlie under sides of the foliage. On a 
strongly developed crop nothing can be done, as it is impossible to spray 
the under parts of such a mass of foliage laying almost on the ground. 

276. Q. I want to try a good native Southern grass. What do youxexa» 
recommend? Ulue Grass. 

A. An American perennial grass not generally known but of admirable 
character for Southern sections, is the Texas Blue grass {Poa arachnifera), 
discovered on the prairies of that State in 1813. It blossoms there about 
the last of March and ripens its seed about the middle of April. Its habit 
in Southern States is much stronger tiian Kentucky Blue grass. In 
Texas, under the severest droughts, it sometimes lags a little, but after 
Autumn rains quickly springs into most vigorous growth and continues 
to grow all Winter. It makes a strong top growth for hay and a matted 
sod standing continued pasturing. It roots deeply and spreads rapidly 
by buds from long, strong, underground stems, which by their vigor re- 
sist the encroachment of Bermuda grass. Once established it will con- 
tinue to stand for a lifetime. It is best propagated by cuttings of the 
roots, 20,000 set to the acre, or say one to each two square feet. Roots 
cost about $1.00 per 1000, seed about $3.00 per pound, six pounds being 
sown to the acre. 

277. Q. What is Bermuda grass? nermuda 
A. Botanically it is known as Gynodon dactylon and is a creeping per ««•»(»». 

ennial, bearing long, leafless flower stalks, abundant but small foliage, 
and producing a mat of under-ground stems and superficial runners. It 
is not a native of Bermuda, but of Soutliern Europe. It is difficult to 
grow it from seed. Consequently best propagated by roots — every root- 
cutting of an inch will produce a plant. In the Southern States on good 
land it is one of the best hay grasses. It is very difficult to eradicate and 
often becomes a great nuisance. 

278. Q. What is Johnson grass? Johnson 
A. It la known as Sorghum holepenge, a native of Africa. Its chief Grans. 

value is in regions where other grasses fail, but it nmst be cut young and 
often to be of value. It is difficult to eradicate, close pasturing being a 
means of killing it out. It should only be planted in waste places or 
where wanted permanently. 

279. Q What is Crab grass? ., ^ ^ 

A r, • ., r> . . , „^ Crab Grass. 

A. Botanically Panicutn sawjuinaU, a native of Europe, but now com- 
mon in all the Southern Stales. It produces long, under-ground, hori- 
zontal roots, often five and six feet long, rooting and branching at every 



50 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Herbs. 



Sports. 



joint. The flower stalks rise to a height of three feet. It is a grass to be 
dreaded as very difficult of eradication. It flourishes under hot sun 
and often on poor soils, gives fair pasturage when other sorts of grass are 
dried up. 
Guinea Grass. 280. Q. What is Guinea grass ? 

A. Botanically it is called Panicnm maximum, and is a native of Africa 
and cultivated extensively in the West Indies. Very susceptible to frost, 
and only ripens seed in the tropics. It is a large hay producer, reaching 
a height of six to seven feet. Tiie seed resembles millet. 

281. Q. My herbs this year don't seem to possess the usual aroma — 
why is it ? 

A. The aroma is strongest in hot, dry Summers — when they grow vig- 
orously under effects of abundant rains they possess little aroma. 

282. Q. Why are not more of our ornamental plants and fruits grown 
from seed ? 

A. Because ofttimes they produce very little seed or none at all, but 
more especially because they are bud propagations, not the results of evo- 
lution or watchful and slow breeding. They are generally sports without 
heredity. In some of these cases, where the subject of heredity has been 
closely followed up for years, the seed produces like parent — for instance, 
among fruits many forms of Russian apples, and some peaches, grapes, 
plums and quinces. 

283. Q. How can I make my pole beans run more freely? 
A. Use nitrogen as a manure — apply it in the form of dried meat, blood, 

fish or guano. 

284. Q. How can I keep my beans and peas more dwarf? 
A. Omit nitrogenous manures and fertilize with potash. 

285. Q. How many grasses are there ? 
A. Over 3000 plants of the grass family are known and described, the 

greater part of no value. The list of grass seeds offered for sale in vari- 
ous countries and recommended for forage numbers about 200 sorts. 

2S6. Q. My cucumber vines set very few fruit compared with the num- 
ber of blossoms. How is this ? 

A. In cucumbers the sexes occur in distinct flowers and it is only the 
female flowers which develop fruit. In cucumbers, blossoms occur at 
every joint, and these are only three to four inches apart, often three 
blossoms at a joint, and quite 100 to 200 blossoms to a single vine, and 
presuming that one-third were female a cultivator might look for an enor- 
mous production, but very few of the female flowers become pollenizcd 
and fruitful. 

287. Q. Can I take up some of my tomato plants growing in the field 
and keep them over the Winter for setting out next Spring? 

A. You might succeed, but the chances are against you, as the plants 
are in unsuitable condition for removal. Tomato plants, however, have 
been known to live for years in a greenhouse, and in the West Indies 



Nitrogen. 

Potash. 
Grasses. 



Cacnmber 
Blossoms. 



Tomato. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 51 

they flourish out of doors like grape vines. Many annual plants become 
biennial in the tropics, for example, the pepper and egg plant. 

288. Q. What is the relative proportion of male and female blossoms Squash. 
on the bush squash ? 

A. About five males to one female. The flowers of the male are larger 
and borne on long fool stalks and after fully distending fall off, leaving 
the fool stalks behind, 

289. Q. I fear I have given too big a dose of fertilizer to my pea crop, over- 

as the foliage is turning yellow. What do you advise me to do to rectify manuring. 
my mistake ? 

A. Constant cultivation is the only ameliorative course you can adopt — 
Its object being to keep the soil friable so that not only rain but dew, fog 
and atmospheric moisture can more fully enter the soil to solve the fertil- 
izer, and the more it is diluted the less burning its results. Commercial 
fertilizers seldom burn in a rainy season, but always are likely to do so in 
a dry one. 

290. Q. My tomato plants are wilting and curling and turning brown. Tomato 
Am I going to lose my crop ? Diseases. 

A. Your plants are evidently suffering from a fungus growth — a micro- 
scopic vegetation which is eating up the fleshy matter of the leaves 
and arresting all development. Spraying with fungicides is eff^ective 
when you can reach the under side of the leaves, but otherwise it is only 
half done. 

291. Q. I find that seeds bearing the same name, that is, sold under Names 
the same label, diS'er very -widely. Why are not particular seeds the "^ Seed. 
same the world over ? Why don't one seed merchant sell the same stock 

as another? 

A. They diS'er because some are grown in Germany, some in Prance, 
some in England or Scotland, or if American, some are produced in the 
Eastern, others in the Central, and others in the Western or Pacific 
States. All these localities possess different soils and climates, and conse- 
quently there is naturally developed a variation in size, color, flower and 
desirability, and yet they all are issued under a given name — for instance, 
the seed of Evergreen corn grown in Pennsylvania or New England will 
produce a plant of distinct characteristics from plants grown from Illinois 
stock, Kansas or Michigan stock, and yet it is all sold as Evergreen. 

292. Q. What shall I do to rid my garden of earth worms ? Earth 
A. The common earth worm does no harm, in fact is rather an advan- Worms. 

tage, as it bores air passages throughout the soil. It can be destroyed by 
the application of lime. 

293. Q. Why are round-podded beans preferred to flat pods? Round-poii 
A. Round pods are generally solid or meaty and free or comparatively Beans. 

free from string, but flat pods are often more or less hollow or windy, 
generally stringy and nearly always thin, and when examined closely 
possess sides more or less like muslin. 



52 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Bean Rust. 294. Q. The pods at one end of my bean patch are spotted with red 
rust ; the greater part of the patch is free from rust. How do you explain 
this? 

A. Possibly the end where the rust appears is lower, and conse- 
quently damper, or, perhaps, it is in the shade of trees or other obstruc- 
tion to free circulation of air. The rust is a fungus. 

Potato iin- 295. Q. What is the extent of annual importations of potatoes? 

portatioDs. A, During the year, ending June, 1894, the importations were as 
follows : 





Bushels. 


Values. 


Belgium 


51,720 
41,662 
28.347 
295,435 
1,671,239 
28,540 
64,993 

596,799 

188,020 

1,235 

28.084 
1,187 
5,317 


$ 16.844 


Germany 


15,354 


Netherlands 


15,607 


United Kingdom — England 


117,288 


Scotland 


737,531 


Ireland 


10.872 


Bermuda 


109,122 


Dominion of Canada — Nova Scotia, 
wick, etc. . 


New 


Bruns- 


169,086 


Quebec, Ontario, 


etc 




63,353 
1,454 


Cuba 


17,351 




252 


A 11 ntVipr mnntriea 


3,080 














3,002,578 


$1,277,194 



Conch Grass. 



Japan 
Clover. 



Alfalfa. 



Peach 
Yellows. 



296. Q. What is conch grass or quack ? 

A. Agropyrum repens, a nuisance found in nearly all the Northern 
States, a first-cousin to the crab grass of the South. It forms a dense 
sod, its far reaching horizontal roots having short joints, which throw 
out root fibres and leaf stalks. Its foliage and roots are succulent and 
nutritious, but it is a pest of the first order. 

297. Q. What is Japan clover ? 

A. Lespedeza striata, introduced about 1850, from China. It is a 
quick growing annual, killed by frost. Does best on clay lands, especi- 
ally on bottoms, where it is a good hay producer. It seeds itself. 

298. Q. What is Alfalfa? 

A. It is Medicago satioa botanlcally. Also known as Lucerne and used 
for cuttting almost entirely, as it is not adapted for pasturage, cattle eat- 
ing it off the crown. According to soil and location it continues in vigor 
from three to ten years. It is adapted to dry climates. Overflow kills it. 

299. Q. Can I cure my peach trees, which appear to be affected with 
the yellows, by the application of wood ashes ? 

A. No ; manuring the soil will not stop the spread of the disease , 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 53 

300. Q. Where can I purchase spraying apparatus and get formulas for Spraying 

insecticide ? Apparatus. 

A. From the publishers of this pamphlet. 

301. Q. In your Catalogue, you sometimes refer to tillage, then to cul-xuiagc. 
tivation. What is the difl'erence ? 

A. To plow, to dig, to harrow, before the crop is planted, is to till. 
The earth is tilled, but the crop is cultivated. 

302. Q. What leaf fibre plants can be grown successfully in the Gulf Fibre Plants. 
States ? 

A. The Agave rigida or true sisal hemp, the Agave dedpiens or false 
sisal hemp, the Agave Americana or century plant, Ananasaa saliva or 
pineapple, Sansevieria or bowstring hemp, Phormium or New Zealand 
flax. Yucca filamentosa or bear grass. 

303. Q. How many experimental stations are there in the United States? Experimen- 
A. About fifty. Some States having two, others more. **^ stations. 

304. Q. On what crops is nitrate of soda especially effective. Nitrate of 
A. As an auxiliary to stable manure it is efficient on all crops, but it Soda. 

is especially profitable on the crops most expensive to grow, on account 
of excessive labor, as by its use there is more certainly assured a larger 
return. 

305. Q. A seed-grower writes of male cabbage plants failing to pro- Sexes in 
duce heads. Is this so? Cabbage. 

A. It is a ridiculous statement, as there is no such thing as a male cab- 
bage plant, the two sexes occurring in the same flower. Cabbage plants 
which fail to head, if the conditions of season, climate and soil are favor- 
able, might properly be termed abortive, 

306. Q, I have in my watermelon field a twenty-pound melon, one half Parti-coiored 
deep green, the other half lemon yellow — the dividing line running from Watermelon. 
blossom end to stem end. How is this? 

A. It may be the effect of a pumpkin hybridization the previous year 
of a double or twin watermelon blossom, or it may be only a common 
freak or sport of nature — a familiar example being found in some gourds, 
which are always half green and half yellow. 

307. Q. If the flower of a watermelon is poUenized from the flower of Hybrid 
a pumpkin, and the cross be eff'ective, is the fruit resulting an obvious Melons. 
hybrid? 

A. No ; it is little aff'ected if any — the hybridization being confined to 
the seed, which planted the next year shows the mixture, 

308. Q. Why is it that every year about half of my spinach plants die sex in 
without producing seed? Spinach. 

A, The half which die are the male plants, which dry up after perfect- 
ing their bloom. The female plants only produce seed, and these live for 
a month after the male plants have disappeared. 

309. Q. Not one-half of the blossoms on my cucumber vines ever set sex in 

fruit. Why is this? Cucumber. 

A, The sexes occur in distinct flowers — the male never produces fruit. 



54 



QUERIES AND ANSv7ER3. 



Puiupkiu or 
Squash. 

Tea Plant. 



First 

Horticultural 

Society. 



First 

Agricultural 

Society. 

Tomatoes. 



Salt. 



Cutting 
I<ettuce. 



Coreless 
Carrot. 



Color in 
Vegetables. 



Date» for 

Seediug. 



and only those female flowers which are fertilized or poUenized by con- 
tact with male llowers or through the agency of the wind or of insects. 

310. Q. What is the difference between a pumpkin and a squash? 

A. A pumpkin never develops a rind hard as wood, while a squash does. 

311. Q. Can the tea plant be grown successfully in the United States? 
A. Yes, the plant can be grown very successfully in some of the Cotton 

States, but in this country labor is very costly as compared with the 
cheap labor of China. In 1790, David Landreth had growing near Phila- 
delphia a hedge of tea plants which stood for years. 

313. Q. At what date was the first Horticultural Society established in 
America ? 

A, In 1838, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, of which David 
Landreth was Secretary. 

313. Q At what date was the first Agricultural Society established in 
America? 

A. In 1785, the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture. 

314. Q. Are all tomatoes derived from the same species ? 

A. No ; the best of the large sorts in cultivation have been derived 
from the Esculentum, a sort divided into four or five cells by intervening 
partitions. The pear-shaped varieties are derived from the Pyriforme, a 
sort of two cells. The grape or current sorts from the Cerasiforme, of 
two cells. 

315. Q. Will salt applied to my fields drive away corn grubs ? 

A. Yes ; very frequently most efficient in arresting ravages of chinch 
bugs on wheat, cut worms on corn, but it should be applied before the 
crop is planted — six or seven bushels to the acre. 

316. Q. You describe a lettuce as a. cutting sort. What do you imply 
by that expression ? 

A. A variety producing a mass of loose leaves — not a heading sort — 
generally an early variety. 

317. Q. What do you mean by coreless as applied to a carrot? 

A. The usual types of carrots contain a woody centre, from off which 
the soft outer shell can be removed. In the case of the coreless varieties 
this character is nearly eliminated — the whole mass being soft. 

318. Q. Are not Yellow Belgian carrots more nutritious for cattle feed- 
ing than White Belgian? 

A. As a rule vegetables of deep colors are considered richer than those 
■without color, but it is possibly a fiction. The Sugar beet is white, the 
Bassano beet is white, both of exceeding sweetness. 

319. Q. Is there any general guide to indicate the proper periods for 
sowing seeds, a guide good for all sections ? 

A. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to indicate a guide for sow- 
ing in the Southern States, but in the North the blooming of trees affords 
a good indication. The periods for the first Spring sowing might be 
named as follows : 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 55 



Ist ] 
2d ] 

3d I 


i'eriod 

^eriod 

(( 

4< 

'eriod 

< 


The blooming 

The blooming 

(> 

<( 
....The bloommg 


of the 

of the 
<< 
(< 
>< 

(< 

of the 

t< 

<< 
i< 

<< 

<< 

of the 

<< 
<< 
« 
« 
<( 
<( 
(« 


peach . . . . 
cherry. . . . 

pear 


....Peas. Periods for 
Peag Sowing Seeds 

....Spinach, 

Lettuce, 

....Corn salad, 
... .Onion sets, 
.... Asparagus roots. 
.... All the above, 
with addition of 


< 


,, 


Celery, 

. . . .Carrot 


< 
< 


.... 




Beet 


, 


(( 




< 


,, 




( 


,, 


Parsley, 

. . . .Tomato seed 


( 


<< 


c 


.< 


apple 


Cabbage, 

....Parsnip. 
. . . . All the preceding, 
with addition of 
....Salsify, 


( 


,< 


4th I 


*eriod.... 


. ...The blooming 




, 


., 






• 


,( 


Cucumber, 




, 


,, 




t 


(( 


....Pumpkin, 
....Okra. 



320. Q. What soils are best adapted to tobacco culture? Tobacco 

A. Like all other cultivated plants, tobacco has its various forms, quali- Soils, 
ties and assortments, and the progressive tobacco grower plants only 
those the most profitable to him, as respects soil and his market, both of 
which must be studied. Red clay subsoils, with rich top soils, generally 
produce the best dark rich export tobacco. Soils composed of sand or 
gravel, with subsoil of light brown or red clay, develop the best stem- 
ming tobacco and fillers. Flat lowlands of alluvial soil give the best 
cigar types. Limestone soils, dark and rich, are the only soils adapted to 
White Burleigh, which, when well grown, is very choice. Slaty soils 
produce the best quality of the yellow wrapping sorts. The list of so- 
called varieties of tobacco runs up into hundreds, many the result only 
of a difference in soil. The publishers have selected a limited number of 
varieties of such as will meet any requirement under the classification of 
adaptability. The publishers solicit orders for seed, believing their stocks 
to be of excellence, and knowing a change of seed, when good stock can 
be obtained, is generally a great advantage to the planter. 



56 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Turnip Fly. 331. Q. Wliy did ray second sowing of turnip seed utterly fail to come 
up when my first sowing from the same bag did perfectly well ? 

A. Possibly the second sowing was eaten otf b}' the turnip fly when it 
was only one twentieth (;\) of an inch out of the ground, and was killed 
before you were aware it had sprouted. 

Top Onions. 332. Q. Are there two kinds of top onions? 

A. Yes ; those with single eyes producing one large onion and those 
with several eyes splitting up into a number of small bulbs. Conse- 
quently inferior to the larger single type variety. 

Pole Beans. 333. Q. Have pole beans any advantage over bush beans? 

A. It is more expensive to prepare to grow pole beans, as the poles are 
costly and the vines need to be tied up three or four times ; but tlie pro- 
duct is larger, consequently the general results are in favor of the pole 
varieties, especially as the pole sorts, with two or three exceptions, con- 
tinue to bear till killed by frost, while the bush beans produce their 
entire crop in a very limited period. 

Paris Green. 334. Q. Have vine crops different degrees of power of resistance to the 
burning effect of Paris green ? 

A. Yes ; cantaloupes the least— next watermelons, followed by pump- 
kins — the hardiest being squash. 

Melon Bugs. 335. Q. AYhat is best remedy for bugs on melons ? 

A. Tl\is is a difficult question. Lots of preparations will kill bugs dead 
as Ctpsar, but it put on strong enough to finish the insects they either kill 
the plants or burn them. It is difficult to strike the happy medium. 

Paris green is as good as any bug poison, but it should be mi.\ed with 
something as a dilutant, as land plaster — say one part of Paris green to 
100 of plaster or flour — anything stronger will burn the leaves of the 
plants. Applications may be made at intervals of four days. For the 
melon louse use kerosene emulsion or whale oil soap. 

vitality of 336. Q. How Can I test the vitality of seeds ? 

Seeds. A. Many ways ; but none altogether satisfactory, for results to-day may 

be positively changed next week or next month, so much depending upon 
the peculiar conditions of moisture and heat, or the fluctuations of the 
same. Again, seeds have their periods of sprouting — sometimes those 
which fail in January will do well in April. Tests of vitality can be 
made by counting out 100 seeds just as they run, good and bad, and test- 
ing them to develop the percentage of seeds which will sprout. This 
can be done between solidified bats of cotton kept damp in a saucer 
partly filled with water — or on seed-testing trays manufactured for the 
purpose, or in pots filled with earth and kept in proper temperature or on 
the earth benches of a greenhouse. Vitality tests out of doors are very 
unsatisfactory, as dashing rains are apt to defeat all ciilculations. 

Manures. 337. Q. For small vegetable gardens do you advise the use of s.able 

manure or commercial fertilizer? 

A. Stable manure every time, as it comprehends all the necessary fer- 



QUERIE3 AND ANSWERS. 57 

tnizing ingrcflients and loosens and aerates the soil. Soils too frequently 
treated witli commercial fertilizer hecomo compacted. 

328. Q. Should I plant my radish seed during the increase or decline of »foon 
the moon ? imiuence. 

A. The moon has no influence upon vegetation. That is an exploded 
idea too dead to bo resurrected. 

329. Q Why is there more fungus growth some seasons than others? Kungi. 
A. Nearly all fungus growtlis can, in a general way, be likened to a 

mushroom growtli, and the mushroom, it is well known, flourishes under 
conditions of moisture. So, likewise, fungus developments are most 
common in wet seasons. 

330. Q. Why are insects mr)re destructive to vegetables some seasons i"«ect«. 
than others ? 

A. Insects destructive to vegetables always appear in greater numbers 
after a mild Winter. The larvic of such insects lay dormant in the soil 
over Winter, and very hard frost kills millions. Wliilo under the condi- 
tions of a mild Winter all live and show themselves in Spring or Summer. 

331. Q. Is a wet or dry season the most profitable to the practical nioMt 
market gardener ? I'lofHablo 

A. A dry one, as a wet season smiles alike on both good and poor mana- W"**"*""*- 
gers, while In a dry season, when so many crops fail, the good manager, 
having a variety of crops put in at different periods and poHHeHsiiig i)racti- 
cal experience in meeting diflicullies as they arise, succeeds in obtaining 
good crops from some portions of his land and high prices for hispioducts. 

333. Q. Is the perennial Lima bean a desirable sort for garden culliva- rerunniai 
lion ? Lima. 

A. It does not possess any particular merit beyond novelty. It devel- 
ops a small bushy plant of slender and procumbent character ; pods four 
to five inches long and depressed between the seeds, which, when 
dry, are oblong and thick and of good rjuality. It is late and a shy 
bearer. It has the peculiar character of keeping the cotyledons under the 
earth. Other Limas elevate them. 

333. Q. How many forma of Lima beans are there in general cultivation V Mma ituang. 

A. Two very distinct classes, the pole and the bush. The pole or 
climbing class can be divided into the Large Lima, the Challenger Lima, 
King of Garden Lima, and the Carolina, both white, yellow, spotted 
and black. The bush or dwarf class can bo divided into the Dwarf 
Carolina in three colors, wiiite, yellow, spotted ; tlie Potato Lima, or 
Dreer's Dwarf, or Kumerle, the Hurpee Lima, and the Perennial Lima. 

834. Q. Can the Large Lima bean be kept alivo so tliat the same roots i»„rennlai 
will produce a crop Die second Summer ? iteauH. 

A. It is doubtful if it couM be done, except in Sf>uthern Florida. In 
California, the Perennial Lima and the White Dutch Runner beans, which 
both have fleshy roots, often live over Winter, and send up from near the 
surface a second growth of vines, producing a second crop of pods. 

835. Q. Why is a snap short or stringless bean called a string bean ? string itoanH. 
A. Simply through force of habit or custom. Tlie bean of years ago, 



58 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Batter Beans 



Germination, 



Bermuda 
Grass. 



Cow Peas. 



Cotton 
Fertilizers. 



Club Root. 



Green 
Manuring. 



Grass Soils. 



all having beea striugy, which undesirable quality has, by intense selec- 
tion, been eliminated, the best "string beans" now not possessing any 
strings, but snapping off short like sticks of glass. 

336. Q. Wliatare "butter" beans? 

A. At the present day the term butter beans is applied to yellow wax- 
podded sorts, as they somewhat resemble butter in color ; but years ago 
the term was only applied to the Lima bean, as it was usually served wiih 
a butter sauce. 

337. Q. Do seeds differ much in sprouting qualities? 

A. Yes ; very much. There is a great variation in germinative power 
under diverse conditions of soil as respect heat and cold, excessive damp- 
ness or dryness. Most seeds make but one effort to start or germinate, 
that is, they start, and, if unchecked, continue to grow freely, or, per- 
haps, drag along if not arrested entirely ; but some others, wheat, for ex- 
ample, can be stopped entirely by cold or heat, excessive wet or drought, 
and, upon the return of favorable conditions, start again and again, four 
or five times repeated. 

338. Q. What is the best grass I can use in Florida to stop my land 
from washing ? 

A. Bermuda grass, planted by cutting small pieces of sod and inserting it. 

339. Q. How do j'ou recommend Cow peas to be used ? 

A. 1. The vines can be plowed under when green. 2. Tlie vines can 
be cut and dried for cattle food. 3. The vines can be allowed to dry and 
produce a crop of seed. 4. The vines can be allowed to dry and fall on 
the surface and lay all Winter. 

340. Q. What is the best manure for cotton ? 

A. Cotton requires phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash in the order' 
named. Or for a crop of say 300 pounds of lint per acre say 50 pounds 
phosphoric acid, 20 pounds nitrogen, and 15 pounds potash. For the 
phosphoric acid, use commercial super-phosphates possessing a large 
quantity of soluble phosphoric acid ; for nitrogen, use dried blood, dried 
fish, ground cotton seed ; for potash, use muriate of potash. 

341. Q. My cabbage has developed club root. Instruct me how to stop 
it from destroying the entire field ? 

A. It cannot be stopped, as any application now would be too late. 
After the crop is off, apply 80 bushels of slacked lime per acre and 8 
bushels of salt. 

342. Q. What plants can I best use for green manuring? 

A. Cow pea, alfalfa, scarlet clover, melilotus, serradilla, lupine, vetch, 
rye, maize, sorghum, red clover. 

343. Q. Name the situations where various grasses do best ? 

A. In special locations as on lowlands or mountain sides, or on special 
soils as sands, gravels, clays, loams, some sorts may, with advantage, be 
omitted and others added. Timothy, for example, a short-lived hay 
grass, does best on well-drained land and in northern latitudes. Red 
Top, a longer-lived sort, does better on moist land, even sustaining long- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 59 

continued overflow. Orchard grass, on the other hand, a good, all- 
around sort, will grow on dry, sandy loam ; fairly well on poor clay and 
better on rich bottoms, eo it be not overflowed, and it even endures the 
shade of trees. 

344. Q. On what soil does Blue grass do best ? B^ae Grass, 
A. Blue grass doing best on limestone soils is not a good hay producer, 

as it is a light cropper, difficult to cut and harder to cure, but it is emi- 
nently a pasturage and lawn grass. It is an easy grower, flourishing for 
a limited time on gravels, bottoms and clays, while on limestone soils 
grazing fields have been known to remain in perfection for sixty years. 
It will not stand severe droughts, but resists any amount of frost, while 
continued pasturage only makes it better. 

345. Q. "What are the best grasses for pasturage ? Pasturage 
A. Upon the length of time which it is contemplated to allow the pas- ^*^*®^* 

turage to stand depends, to a large extent, the varieties of grass seeds to 
mix, as for example, Timothy, Italian Eye grass. Cocksfoot, White and 
Alsike clover, are all very quick to develop and suitable for a two or 
three years' shift, while for a longer term should be added Blue grass, 
Red Top, Foxtail, Tall Fescue, Perennial Rye, Lucerne and Red clover. 

346. Q. How many grass seeds are in a pound ? Seeds to the 
A. One who sets himself to estimate the number of seeds in a pound ^*'"° * 

will soon come to a realization of the necessity for a perfect seed bed, that 
the small seeds be not lost in crevices or under clods, for he will find the 
seeds to number in a pound of Tall Fescue 250,000, Red clover 280,000, 
Orchard grass 600,000, Timothy 1,250,000, Blue grass 2,375,000, Rough 
Meadow 3,000,000 and Red Top 8,000,000. Can it be expected that over 
10 per cent, of the seeds ever make a plant, considering the rough tillage 
and careless sowing of the ordinary farmer? 

347. Q. Why do you advise the sowing of so much grass seed to the Grass 

acre ? Seeding. 

A. Thin seeding of grass is a most serious mistake, as a poor stand of 
grass only leaves room for weeds to occupy the space. Consequently we 
advise a very liberal application of seed, for under the best conditions, as 
respects preparation of land, distribution of seed and covering, a large 
portion of the seed will get too deeply covered over to vegetate. 

348. Q. How deep should grass seed be covered ? Depth of 
A. Not more than one farmer in a hundred by his field practice shows Co'^ermg. 

any indication that he realizes the necessity of shallow covering of grass 
seeds, for they generally put on a harrow and cover to a depth of one to 
two and a half inches, delicate seeds not one-thirtieth of an inch in diame- 
ter. Certainly the greater part never shows a green blade, for farmers 
seldom stop to consider the delicate nature of the seeds they commit to 
rough, cloddy earth. 

349. Q. Instruct me what mixture of grasses will do best in my section ? 
A. All prescriptions for grass seed mixtures are little more than gener- 
alities, for no one can compile a table or seriesof tables showing the varie- 



60 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Grass Seed 
Prescriptions 



Heredity. 



VarlablUty. 



Market 
Gardening. 



encumber 
Salting. 



ties positively adapted to different localities, for soils even oa adjoining 
fields frequently vary so much as to require an entire change in the varie- 
ties and proportions. How much more difficult to prescribe for unknown 
soils, some perhaps a thousand miles away. The geological constitution, 
rainfall, drainage, altitude and objects sought, whether for hay or graz- 
ing, all need to be studied. The best guide is the experience of others in 
one's location, but even that is often misleading, for we have grown grand 
crops of Timothy and Clover in a section of a Southern State, where the 
farmers seldom saved any hay, trusting almost entirely to corn fodder — 
of course there were no barnyards worthy of the name in that locality. 

350. Q. Is there much dependence to be placed in heredity ? 

A. Wliile heredity is a well-marked principle in vegetable life, there is 
a constant tendency to depart from established forms, sometimes for the 
better, oftener for the worse, for reversion is generally downward in the 
scale of excellence. The reversion may be in the form of a wild sport, or 
a distinct reproduction from a late or a very remote ancestor. Were it 
not for heredity the seed growers' labors would be in vain, but fortunately 
the man who finds a good thing in the greenhouse, flower garden, or veg- 
etable garden, or in the field, can seize upon it, and by the aid of heredity 
fix, after a time, its valuable qualities for the benefit of all. But it may 
be well to say he meets with many instances of curious reversion to orig- 
inal types. 

351. Q. Can the Market Gardener do anything to prevent variation 
from true types ? 

A. No. Every experienced seed grower knows that the purest crops 
will sometimes develop the wildest sports ; for instance, a crop of cabbage 
of apparently absolute puiity may produce a few plants like coUards, the 
result alone of reversion. The seed grower is powerless to prevent this 
natural physiological freak, and the gardener who knows anything of 
seed production and vegetable variability deals more rationally with the 
seedsman than he who knows nothing of such matters, but thinks nature 
should produce plants all as much alike as nickels from the mint. 

352. Q. What is the value of the Market Gardening industry in the 
United States ? 

A. Upward of $100,000,000 is invested in this industry, the annual pro- 
ducts reaching a value of over $75,000,000, tlie product of over half a 
million acres of laud. Tlie annual expenditures for fertilizers being 
$10,000,000, the number of hands employed being 350,000. The number 
of horses and mules employed being 75.800. The value of the imple- 
ments used being $8,971,000. In the Philadelphia district, which includes 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, there are employed 70,000 
men at an average cost for daily wages of $1.19 ; the annual production 
being of the value of $21,000,000. 

353. Q. What is the extent of cucumber pickling? 

A. Wliile gardeners may have some idea of the extent of cucumber 
culture for sale as a vegetable, little is known about the development of 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 61 

its culture for salted pickles. Our neighbors over in New Jersey were for 
years the largest producers of cucumbers for salting, growing annually 
200,000 bushels, but now, by reason of Western competition, not a quarter 
part of that quantity is grown. Long Island, in the East, is the largest 
producing section, the New York crops being estimated at 200,000,000 
pickles. These pickles bring the farmer from GO cents to $1.25 per thou- 
sand. The Ohio Valley is the next important pickle section. After that, 
the country near the south end of Lake Michigan. These various crops 
of cucumber sections amount to about 1,500,000 bushels of 300 to the 
bushel, consequently 450,000,000 cucumbers. Large quantities are ex- 
ported to Europe. 

354. Q. How many cucumber pickles can be bad from an acre ? Cucumber 
A. A good crop of cucumbers when gathered of pickling size produces Pickles to the 

from 100 to 175 bushels to the acre. A bushel contains about 300 pickles. 
Some cultivators have claimed to produce over 100,000 pickles to the acre. 
When pulling pickles the work should be done cautiously, that the 
vines be disturbed as little as possible, for if they be uninjured they will 
produce many successive pickings. The pickles should be slipped from 
the vine by the thumb and finger without raising or disturbing the vine. 

355. Q. Can beet root sugar be made in the United States ? Beet Sugar. 

A. During the past fifty years a hundred efforts have been made to pro- 
duce beet sugar in the United States, but nothing really practical, cer- 
tainly nothing profitable, was accomplished till after 1880. During the 
Summer of 1893 seven beet sugar factories were in operation in the United 

States, one in Virginia, two in Nebraska, one in Utah and three in Call. 
fornia. The money invested in these several factories is estimated at 
$2,500,000, In the Autumn of 1893 and Winter of 1894 the output of 
sugar from these seven factories was 45,000,000 pounds. 

356. Q. Is the canning of peas increasing ? Pea Canning. 
A. The quantity of pea seed annually sown has reached vast dimen- 
sions, quite 250,000 bushels being annually planted. In the Chesapeake 

Bay district alone it is estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 bushels are sown 
each year on from 20,000 to 25,000 acres from which product 75 per cent, 
is put into cans. The quantity of product of peas greatly varies under 
conditions, sometimes 100 bushels of green pods to the acre being har- 
vested, at other times only thirty or forty. The canning of peas has de- 
veloped on a par with that of tomatoes, the number of tin cans put up in 
the United States being estimated at 18,000,000 to 20,000,000. The Balti- 
more city canners use annually about 400,000 bushels of shelled peas, 
which they put into 7,000,000 cans. 

357. Q. Is there any machinery made for shelling green peas? Shelling Peas 
A. Formerly all peas for canning had to be picked from the vines by 

hand and shelled by hand. Some years ago machine shellers or pea 
huUers were invented for opening the green pods, 100 bushels an hour or 
1000 bushels a day, and grading the soft peas into three classes according 
to size. These machines do the work better than when done by hand. 



62 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS, 



Tomato 
lutroUuction. 



Seasons for 
Vegetables. 



and doing the work so quickly the peas are put through tlie process of 
canning before they take on a dry or soiled appearance, which is often 
the case when done by the slow S3'stem of hand shelling. But now the 
large growers never pull a green pod, but by miicliinery pull up the vines 
from the entire field when they are bearing the greatest number of devel- 
oped pods, and then passing the vines through the machine break off the 
pods, open them, and grade the peas. 

358. Q. In what year were tomatoes generally introduced as a vege- 
table ? 

A. In this country tomatoes came into general use about 1845, and have 
grown so rapidly in favor that no fruit or vegetable which can be named 
has to such a rate increased in cultivation, the fruit, either natural or 
canned, being used in all seasons — indeed, quite as much in "Winter as in 
Summer. 

Tomatoes were first packed in tin and glass by Mr. Harrison "W. Crosby, 
at Lafayette College, Pa., in the year 1848. lie sold his product at fifty 
cents a can ; now the price is seven cents — the result of the adoption of 
steam machinery and intense application to the cheapening of costs. 

The canning of tomatoes has now reached enormous proportions. In 
1894, 138,000,000 tins were put up, and the vegetable, as it is classed, is in 
as common use during Winter as in Midsummer. 

359. Q. What are the seasons for various vegetables? 

A. Formerly esculent vegetables could be divided into classes, as re- 
spects seasons of use, and a period named covering the time of sale of 
each class — as, for example, peas were only offered during May, June and 
July, and so with cucumbers, tomatoes, egg plants and beans ; they all 
had their seasons, and, when they were past, only those people who had 
greenhouses could expect more until the return of the corresponding sea- 
son of the following year. But now that is a condition of the past, for 
Georgia and Florida, with their evergreen productiveness, have been able 
to revolutionize the old conditions by sending to the Northern cities, even 
when snowclad and icebound, the fruits of balmy Summer. 

3G0. Q. Where do the earliest new potatoes come from ? 

A. Large quantities of new potatoes reach the markets of New York 
and Philadelphia from Bermuda, Charleston, Savannah, Florida, and still 
later, but before Northern crops mature, from Virginia and ^laryland ; 
and there is room for more, at paying prices, and they who present them 
early, of good sorts and in good condition, need not apprehend a want of 
customers. 
SwcetPotato. 361. Q. What is the relation of the white potato to the sweet potato? 

A. The white potato has become a product of the world, cultivated 
equally successfully from Chili to Alaska, from the Cape of Good Hope 
to Iceland. The sweet potato, on the other hand, belongs to a distinct 
l)otauical order ; in fact, if one is a potato the other is not. The tubers 
of the white potato are underground branches, while the tubers of the 
sweet potato arc enlarged roots. The sweet potato is very sugary as well 



Potatoes. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 63 

as farinaceous. Tt appears to have been found both in tropical America 
and part of Asia. The early Spanish voyagers to America took it back 
with them to Spain, where it was cultivated as early as 152G, or forty or 
fifty years earlier than the white potato. 

3G2. Q. flow many marketable ears of green corn should we get to the Com. 
acre, and how long does it require from planting to marketing? 

A. Of the medium and large varieties of sugar corn, 75 to 80 bushels, 
or 8000 to 9000 marketable ears can be raised to the acre. Corn when 
planted in Midsummer docs not mature as quickly as when Spring planted, 
as the climatic conditions are not so favorable, not of such a forcing na- 
ture as the early Summer influences, hence from 10 to 15 days must be 
added to the calculation of the time required to develop a crop, for in- 
stance, the Evergreen Sugar corn, which, when planted, say May 15, will 
mature under usual conditions in 85 days, should be given 90 to 100 days 
as an Autumn crop. 

303. Q, Wliat is the extent of the corn canning interest? Corn 

A. The canning of corn for Winter use has become a most important ^*""'"S- 
industry, employing thousands of hands and a large capital invested in 
buildings and machinery. The number of tins put up during the Sum- 
mer of 1893 was 93,000,000, and it is expected that during the Summer of 
1895 the number of cans may reach to 125,000,000. New York State cans 
the largest quantity, with Maine not far behind and Maryland as a third. 
The operations in the State of Maryland of growing the best vegetable 
sweet corn for canning have reached a most notable development. One 
Maryland farmer and canner alone purchasing for several years the seed 
corn to plant 1100 acres of his own land and 3400 acres of contracted crop 
grown by neighbors ; every grain from which 4500 acres he .put up in tin 
cans. 

364. Q. What are the manufacturing uses of corn ? U«os of 
A. A large quantity of corn is used in making starch. This article is*^*""*** 

more generally used in the arts than is realized, for it enters in the filling 
of many woven fabrics, in the manufacture of candy, some candy being 
over half starch, in baking powders, paper and a thousand things as an 
adulterant, 250,000,000 pounds of starch being annually consumed in vari- 
ous ways, and all of which, in this country, is made principally from pota- 
toes, corn and some from wheat. About 10,000,000 bushels of corn are 
annually used in the manufacture of starch. A comparatively new use 
for corn is that for brewing or beer making, quite 30,000,000 bushels 
being used annually. Corn used for brewing has first to be deprived of 
its cuticle and its germ to get rid of the native oil, for if over 2 per 
cent, of oil remains tlie corn is unfit for beer. The dogerminating ma- 
chines are very ingenious. 

365. Q. What is the geographical centre of the corn-growing interest? *^***''» 

A. In 1829 the centre of production was this side of the Alleghenies. ^*'o<J»c"on- 
In 1839 over the mountain. In 1849 in Ohio. In 1889 in Illinois. In 1894 
in Iowa. None of these districts which once led have fallen behind la 



64 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Corn in 
]<:urope. 



Vegetable 
Analysis. 



Essential 
Fertilizers. 



Capital 
l>cr Acre. 



production ; onlj' l)een eclipsed by the phenomenal production and ex- 
tended areas of the newer States ; for instance, Tennessee, which fifty 
years ago ranked first, now ranks only ninth, though its production of 
corn is double what it was then. 

306. Q. How much corn ia grown in Europe? 

A. The growth of corn in Europe is steadily increasing, now reaching 
the quantity of 300,000,000 bushels, or say one-seventh of that of the 
United States. The European countries producing the largest quantity 
are Austria Hungary, with 100,000,000 bushels, followed by France with 
80,000,000 bushels. In the Mediterranean countries there are annually 
sown many million acres in forage corn. The grain there does not reacli 
perfection as in this country, for it is always imperfect in form and gen- 
erally stained and moldy, for the climatic conditions of the nights there 
are not at all favorable to the ripening of the grain. The undeveloped 
and moldy grain when consumed for a length of time develops a disease, 
to treat which special hospitals have been established. 

367. Q. AVlien was the first vegetable analysis made ? 

A. The first accurate analysis of a vegetable was not made till the year 
1810, and so late as 1838 the Gottingen Academy offered a prize for a sat- 
isfactory solution of the question whether the ingredients of the ashes are 
essential to vegetable growth. The last forty years have placed agricul- 
ture upon a scientific foundation, and the strides of development have 
been wonderful. The investigations of all scientific men, in these partic- 
ular pursuits, have served to dispel ancient theories and develop a knowl- 
edge of the systems of germination, subsistence and growth. 

368. Q. "What are the essentials to plant subsistence? 

A. It is, fortunately, the case that nearly every soil holds more or less of 
the inorganic parts essential to vegetable growth. They may be briefly 
enumerated as sulphates, phosphates, nitrates, chlorides and carbonates 
of potash, lime, magnesia, iron. Where an ingredient is deficient in 
quantity it can be readily aided by specific application. The time has 
come when every farmer must possess some knowledge of natural liis- 
tory ; he must prepare himself, if he expects to follow his pursuit success- 
fully, as much as does the mechanic or the professional man. 

369. Q. After a market gardener purchases or rents his land, how much 
ready cash must he have per acre to properly work the land ? 

A. From Florida the reports of the necessary capital per acre in land 
or its rental (not of labor), fertilizers, tools, implements, seed and all the 
appliances, average ninety-five dollars ; from Texas, forty-five ; from 
Illinois, seventy dollars ; from the Norfolk district of Virginia the reports 
vary from seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five dollars, according 
to location, and from Long Island, N. Y., the average of estimates at 
the east end are seventy-five and at the west end one hundred and fifty 
dollars. 

Market gardeners living five miles out of Philadelphia, on tracts of 
twenty and thirty acres, devoting all their laud and energies to growing 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 65 

vegetables, somelimes paying forty dollars per acre for rent, estimate that 
the necessary capital averages from two hundred to three hundred dollars 
per acre, according to the amount of truck grown under glass. These 
same men calculate the profits to be from one hundred and fifty dollars to 
two hundred and fifty dollars per acre. 

370. Q. How long has the cabbage been in cultivation ? Cabbage. 
A. The cabbage plant in a cultivated form was known two thousand 

years ago, and at the time of Pliny six varieties were in cultivation. The 
forms o( tho Brassic a family are varied, some varieties being cultivated for 
their leaves, as the cabbage, where the terminal leaf-bud alone is active ; 
others for their inflorescence, as the cauliflower, where the terminal leaf- 
bud is checked ; others for oil, as rape, where the terminal and lateral 
leaf-buds are active ; others for their enlarged roots, as the turnip, where 
the leaf-buds are the same as in rape. 

371. Q. What is the most profitable branch of market gardening? 3iarket 

A. In the North the most profitable vegetable growing nowadays is c^ardemng. 
done under glass, both in hotbeds, hothouses and coldhouses — profitable 
because the producers are limited in number, and as the products are sent 
to market at seasons when the markets are not glutted — out-of-season 
vegetables they may be styled. The most successful of such men have 
standing contracts with the best hotels, clubs and restaurants. 

373. Q. Has there been much progress in raethodsof vegetable culture V^*"*?®**^'® 

., ,. ... Culture. 

A. Vegetable culture at the present day is quite aistmct from that of 
the past, for while gardening has been from ancient times termed an art, 
it may now, in its advanced condition, be termed an art supported, ex- 
plained and dignified by nearly every science, all being called upon to 
account for the natural phenomena of plant germination, vegetation and 
maturity. 

373. Q. Are all plants vegetables in a general sense? Definition of 
A. The term Vegetable is very indefinite; for instance, the oak tree ^^* " ** 

equally with the tomato is classed as a vegetable, the cucumber equally 
with the orchid, the seaweed equally with the mushroom ; consequently, 
in a general sense, trees and seaweed are vegetables as well as cabbages 
or watermelons, those which are edible being termed esculent vegetables. 
There is a more critical division of those which sire used as food and 
which may be said to pass through the kitchen for some preparatory 
preparation, culinary vegetables being the term used to denote this class. 
This classification omits from the class of culinary vegetables those pro- 
ducts (as apples, grapes, pears) which can be used without cooking or 
without preparation of any sort, but this in f;ict is not yet correct, for the 
line of separation is best determined by physical characteristics. 

374. Q. What is a culinary vegetable? „ ,. 

^ JO Culinary 

A. Tlie private gardener, the market gardener, the commission mer- Vegetables. 
chant, all class as vegetables the potato and the tomato, the cabbage and 
the pea, the beet and the egg plant, the celery and the corn, the lettuce 
and the bean. This for all practical purposes is right, but physiologically 



66 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



is all wrong. Why? Because the egg plant, the tomato, the bean, the 
corn, are fruits. How many persons have ever taken the trouble to think 
over the difference between a culinary vegetal ile and a culinary fruit? 
What is that difTerence ? It is a diflference of origin of development. A 
culinary vegetable is properly the result of abnormal development of 
vegetable tissue, as in the enlarged leaves of the cabbage or the thick 
roots of the beet or carrot, while a culinary fruit, as also all fruit, is a 
growth following and resulting from inflorescence, as after the flower 
comes upon the same stem the egg plant, pepper, tomato, cucumber, 
watermelon, pumpkin. All these are fruits just as much as the apple, 
pear or grape. Some people might say fruits only grow on hard-wooded 
plants, as on trees and bushes, but not so, as a pea is a fruit, an ear of corn 
is a fruit. Nevertheless, these distinctions do not make them any easier 
or harder to produce, do not make them more or less profitable. 

What is 375. Q. What is agriculture ? 

Agriculture? A. Agriculture refers to the tillage of the earth over broad fields, as for 
the raising of cereals, grass or tubers. Gardening, on the other hand, 
refers to the culture of small inclosed areas. This application of the lat- 
ter term was quite correct originally, but it is now common for mere 
vegetable gardens to equal the area of ordinary grain and grass farms, 
requiring in their cultivation a degree of general intelligence, technical 
skill, and an amount of activity, implements and labor exceeding that 
expended upon large farms. 

376. Q. What is gardening ? 

A. Gardening again differs from farming in the range of varieties culti- 
vated. The farmer may devote his acres to those crops to which the land 
is adapted, but the gardener is expected to grow the entire list of vegeta- 
bles, without reference to the composition of the soil. Such cultivation, 
to be successful, must be to some extent scientific. The cultivator must 
possess a knowledge of the facts and principles which underlie his art or 
he will certainly fail. Gardening, which formerly was described as agri- 
culture upon circumscribed areas, has ever shared with the latter the 
esteem of mankind. Twenty-four hundred years ago Socrates said, "It 
is the source of health, strength, plenty, riches and honest pleasure;" 
and a poetic English writer said, " It is amid its scenes and pursuits that 
life flows pure, the heart more calmly beats." 

377. Q. How does market gardening differ from private family gar- 
dening? 

A. It is done on a larger scale. Market gardening on a large scale may 
be termed commercial gardening, as the operator must, to a certain extent, 
be a merchant, fully alive to the import of fluctuating prices and quick 
to change his point of shipment or his consignee. 

378. Q. Is market gardening overdone? 

A. With the seven millions of people of Philadelphia, New York, Bos- 
ton, St. Louis and Chicago, and the many millions more in other cities 
and towns which look to these great distributing markets for supplies, 



Wliatis 
Gardening ? 



Market 
Gardening, 



Market 
Gardening. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 67 

there is at seasonable periods little fear of gorging tlie markets if tlie fruit 
and vegetables be well chosen and well packed. Observe the use of the 
expression "seasonable periods," as of course no Southern grower of 
tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plant, or other garden products would ex- 
pect to find a market for his goods in Northern cities when those mar- 
kets were in receipt of the same class of garden truck from territory 
adjacent, the products of which would be fresher and cheaper than those 
from distant points. The shipper of fruits and vegetables from the South, 
attempting to cope with the garden States of New Jersey and Delaware, 
when their products are being sent to market, would only have his trouble 
for his pay. 

379. Q. "What is the advantage of cropping cow peas? Cow Peas. 
A. To improve the fertility of the soil by the concentration near the 

surface of potash and nitrogen, seized upon and brought to the surface 
by the roots vertically descending to depths below and by the accumula- 
tion of nitrogen drawn from the air and held by the root galls — a notable 
peculiarity of this crop. The cow pea, which is properly a bean, will 
grow upon the poorest soils, and if the crop be repeated for two or three 
years will lit them in an astonishing degree for ordinary farm crops, 

380. Q. How many families of cow pea are there? Cow Pea 
A. There are two marked divisions ; first, the Crowder, in which the Varieties. 

seeds are packed so closely in the pods as to be flattened on the sides ; 
second, the Kidney formed. These two classes are divided into forty or 
fifty sub-varieties of various colors, habits, and periods of maturity. To 
produce a dense mass of vine to cover the ground and decay or to be 
plowed under green the best are the Calico, Black, Red Ripper and Clay. 
If to produce a big yield of dry seed, the best is the Unknown and the 
Clay. To produce a crop for ensilage the best are the Clay and the 
Whip-poor-will. For all-around purposes the Clay is as good as any. 

381. Q. Is it advantageous to manure land intended for a crop ot cow ^^^^ Peas, 
peas? 

A. The primary object of growing cow peas is to add fertility to a poor 
soil. Now if the soil is very poor but a small crop of cow peas can be 
expected and consequently a small return of fertilization to the soil. It 
is therefore advantageous to force them by manure if the soil be exces- 
sively poor. The manure most effective in the forcing of cow peas is 
superphosphate of lime. 

383. Q. In what way does clover, cow peas, and plants of the bean i^egnme 
family improve the fertility of soil ? FamUy. 

A. On the roots of the legume family are developed certain organisms 
which acquire and hold nitrogen faster than other portions of these 
plants ; these are root galls or tubercles, the product of microbes or bac- 
teria. These root galls vary in number in different locations, but on 
plants of legume family are always present to a greater or lesser extent. 
As they have the faculty of absorbing nitrogen from the air, those plants 
which produce the greatest number of these galls are recognized as nat,- 



68 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Washed 
Lauds. 



looculation 

of 

Soils. 



American 
Locust. 



InsectH. 



Pea Bug. 



Squash 
llorer. 



ural, highly nitrogenous fertilizers. It is theorized that the number of 
tliese galls can bo increased by treating the soil with microbe water. If 
this be correct a new system of intense and cheap soil fertilization will be 
developed. 

383. Q. What is the best course iu the recovery of washed soils or 
eroded lands ? 

A. The first thing to do is to incorporate organic matter to the fullest 
extent possible. A soil charged willi humus has the ability to absorb 
water and hold it till it percolates to depths below instead of running 
away. The second thing to do is to plow and cultivate the land so as to 
avert the rapid surface How of rain water ; this can be done by terracing 
and by side-hill ditches and contour cultivation. 

384. Q. "What is meant by the inoculation of soils? 

A. It is a theory that a soil is rendered more fertile for a specific crop 
by transferring to it a top-dressing of soil from a field on which the pre- 
vious year had been grown a crop of the new crop contemplated. For 
instance, if it is intended to put a field down in clover, it is theorized tliat 
the plants will be more vigorous and the crop altogether larger if the field 
be top-dressed or manured with soil from a field which was in clover the 
previous year. 

385. Q. What kind of an insect is the American locust ? 

A. It may be described as a large grassliopper, common throughout the 
Southern States and sometimes occurring in New York and New Jersey. 
It hibernates as an adult and lays eggs in Miy and June, the young in- 
sects appearing iu July and August. It manifests a decided preference 
for corn, but feeds ravenously on oats, clover, potatoes and foliage of fruit 
trees. It seems to prefer elevated food, as watermelons, cucumbers and 
other low-growing plants often escape. 

38G. Q. How cau insect depredations best be kept in check on the 
farm ? 

A. By Autumn plowing, which exposes the soil to the killing etfects of 
frost. By rotation of crops and thorough cultivation. 

387. Q. How does the pea bug get into the pea ? 

A. The flying mother insect deposits her eggs upon the outside of the 
pods when the pods are less than half grown. The eggs, under the heat 
of sun, hatch, and the j'oung grubs eat their way sometimes directly into 
the young peas ; at other times they mine along the inside of the pod, 
remaining there for days before they enter the pea. These weevil are 
propelled by false or temporary legs which they drop with their false skin 
when they enter the pea, not till it is nearly fully formed. After that 
they assume the ordinary form of larva of the weevil and remain till 
Autumn, when they eat their way out. 

3"'8. Q. My Boston Marrow and Hubbard squash last August were 
destroyed by the squash borer; what shall I do this year to pioiect my 
vines? 

A. Kill the adult red-legged insects, which can be done about sunrise 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 69 

and sunset, as they can then be found sitting quite torpidly on top of the 
leaves. 

389. Q. Are there plants which eat insects ? Carnivorous 
A. Yes. Not exactly as animals eat their food, but certain plants are^^'^'^'** 

possessed of an irritability which gives power ot seizing upon such insects 
as come within reach of the flowers, which possess digestive powers 
which chemically and functionally are somewhat parallel to the powers 
possessed by animals. 

390. Q. Is there in any of the States a quarantine against insects, the insect 
same as the European nations raised against certain American insects, as Quarantine, 
the potato bug, for example 1 

A. Only in California ; but there ought to be in every State, for we are 
not only disseminating all the insects of our American climates, but im- 
porting and distributing among ourselves all the insects and fungous dis- 
eases of the world. 

891. Q. Do growing crops alone diminish the nitrogen of the soil to Nitrogen, 
the extent of their nitrogenous composition ? 

A. No. Nitrogen disappears more rapidly than the crops alone remove 
it. It leaches away by drainage, and as the humus of the soil diminishes 
so does the nitrogea. It increases in a marked degree when the laud is 
put down in clover or plants of that class. The principal loss of nitrates 
takes place in Autumu, and this can be partially provided against by the 
Summer and Autumn cultivation of nitrate crops, as clover. Southern 
cow peas, mustard, rape — green manures for plowing under after frost. 

392. Q. What shall I do to make my truck farm pay a belter proflt? Trucidng 
A. Slop the cultivation of crops not clearly profitable. Cease making *^** ** 

experiments on a large scale. Reduce the wages expended. Use the best 
labor-saving machinery and plant only the best seeds — and they are 
Landreths'. 

393. Q. Why do garden seeds kept throughout the Summer months in '^oss of - 
the cotton States so generally lose their vitality ? i a y 

A. Because they are subjected to an amount of moisture in the air 
which causes the germs to partly start into growth, weakening them for 
future effort. 

394. Q. Last year I got from you ten pounds Boss watermelon seed and irregular 
plauled about half of it, the crop resulting being phenomenally flue re- *'''*"'^^'***^'^"* 
specling quantity, size and quality. This year I planted the remaining 

half on adjoining fleld and it is just as inferior as it was last year superior. 
How is this ? 

A. It is all due to surrounding circumstances, as respects soil, rainfall, 
temperature, time of planting, kind of fertilizer and the influence of the 
previous crop. Every practical gardener has had this same experience. 

395. Q. In what way do crops feed upon the organic compounds applied Plant Food. 
to or native to the soil? 

A, They do not feed upon them as they are. but only after they have 
been reduced to their more simple component parts. These transforma- 



70 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Drought. 



Paris Green, 



Crops on 
Sand. 



Bean Rust. 



Cauliflower 
Soil. 



Color in 
Plants. 



Weevil 
iu Beans. 



Pea Bug. 



tions are lurgely effected by inferior organisms which inhabit all soils. 
There is accordingly much study applied to soil microbes, cryptogamic 
plants, many of which have power to an unusual degree of seizing upon 
and fixing the nitrogen of the air as well as that in the soil. 

89G. Q. Why do some crops resist drought better than others? 

A. Because of difference in length in the descending roots. Wheat, 
for instance, resists drought better than grass because it roots deeper. All 
plants root more deeply than generally believed, for they have vertically 
descending filaments which escape the notice of the ordinary observer. 

397. Q. How can I prevent Paris green from burning the foliage of 
plants? 

A. A chemical change can be brought about which reduces the burning 
quality by adding one pound of lime to every twenty gallons of the Paris 
green solution. 

39S. Q. Can crops be grown on perfectly pure sand by the aid of arti- 
ficial manures? 

A. Ves ; Prof Ville, of France, demonstrated that on washed sands 
he could grow good crops by adding to it component parts of plant foods, 
the product varying according to the component parts applied, as potash, 
lime, nitrogen, or phosphoric acid. These singly, or in twos, or in threes, 
or altogether ; 3-inch culture, however, would not be profitable. 

399. Q. Can the bean rust be prevented ? 

A. It can be reduced by soaking the seed for one hour before planting 
iu some of the copper b:itbs, as copper carbonate or copper sulphate. 

400. Q. What is the best soil for cauliflower? 

A. The soil is not so important a matter as the subsoil and the atmos- 
phere. Cauliflower to be of first quality should be grown quiclily, and 
a quick growth is advanced by a copious supply of water which the roots 
can draw upon ; consequently the plants do best where water occurs at a 
short depth beneath the surface. As to the location, the plant does best 
in a salt atmosphere. 

401. Q. Is not the variability in the color, form, odor and secretions of 
flowers a provision of Nature to please the eye of mm ? 

A. It appears not to be that alone, but to be essential to the plants' ex- 
istence, as all these qualities referred to aid in the work of insect pollina- 
tion and result from insect pollination. 

402. Q. How can I kill weevil in my beans? 

A. If you can put them into a large glass bottle or a tin-lined chest or 
in a tin-lined chamber or room, you can then subject them to the fumes of 
bisulphide of carbon, deadly to animal life. One quart of the liquid 
allowed to volatilize, which it does quickly, is enough to kill the bugs 
in fifty bushels of seed exposed twenty-four hours to its influence. 

403. Q. Will seed peas which have been cut by the pea bug germinate 
as freely and produce as well as peas which have not been efiected by the 
bug? 

A. Take one hundred peas and it will be observed they have not all 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 71 

been entered exactly at the same place ; in some the germ has been de- 
stroyed — they certainly will not sprout ; in some the interior is more eaten 
out than in others — they afford less food support to the young plant, 
which may never be healthy ; others of the one hundred are uninjured as 
a seed stock. 

404. Q. What is the remedy for destroying insects in small seeds — the Bisulphide, 
weevil in dried beans and the bugs in dried peas ? 

A. Subject the seeds in a closed vessel, as a pot, chest, or tight room, 
to the fumes of some deadly chemical preparation, as cyanide of potassium 
or carbon bisulphide. Don't inhale it yourself. 

405. Q. What is the difference between a True Top onion set and the Top Onion. 
Egyptian or Winter Top onion set? 

A. The True Top onion set is the product of the True Top large onion, 
which is planted out in the Spring to produce sets on top of the stalks 
(they do not produce black seed) The sets are planted to produce large 
onions. The Egyptian or Winter Top onion set is nothing more nor less 
than the original True Top onion, which has been allowed to remain in 
the ground yearafter year and has degenerated into a half wild condition; 
the sets will not produce a large onion, but grow in bunches in the form 
of scullions. Until they were introduced as a novelty they were regarded 
as utterly worthless. The two may be detected by cutting the set of each 
in half— the True type will cut to one eye and the Egyptian will cut to 
several eyes or hearts. 

40G. Q. Is it possible to bring the Egyptian or Winter onion back to its wintor 
original form — that is to say, a True Top set, which will produce a large. Onion, 
perlect onion? If so, what is the procedure? 

A. It is not worth the effort. Better get the true stock at once, even if 
at double prices. 

407. Q. Will seed beans which have been cut by the weevil germinate ? Weevil. 
A. A proportion will; but no one till after trial can tell what that »« Beans. 

proportion will be. The weevil in beans is more severe than the pea bug 
in peas, as the bean weevil is more ravenous, eating a larger proportion 
of the interior of the bean, and frequently where one insect is present in 
a bean there are several, which in time will completely honeycomb the 
bean. Weevily beans should at once be burned up. 

408. Q. What causes my radishes to be so scabby and eaten ? Radish. 
A. Worms and grubs. No help for the present crop. Next year dress 

the field with lime and salt and avoid stable manure ; use commercial fer- 
tilizers broadcasted early in the season. Use kainit. 

409. Q. Can I grow chicory as a substitute for coffee ? Chicory. 
A. Yes ; a very good substitute. It is grown exactly like carrots or 

parsnips; it should be taken up in October and sliced and dried. The 
Landreths cultivated it during the war, in the sixties, and sold the roots 
to coffee men. 

410. Q. Does not self-blanching celery, both white and golden, show a Celery, 
tendency to produce green plants ? Seif-bianch- 



72 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cutshort 
Beans. 



Broccoli. 



Rhubarb. 



Drought. 



Turnips. 



Celery, 
Self-blanch- 



Firming the 

Soil. 



Beau Rust. 



A, Yes, to revert to the original form ; and it is well it does so, other- 
wise they both would become so dwarled and puny as to soon go out of 
use. 

411. Q. What does the word " cutshort " signify, as applied to cornfield 
beans? 

A. Cutshort and snapshort both signify the same thing ; that is, a bean 
producing a green, edible pod, without a string, but they are not always 
stringless. 

413. Q. What is the diflference between broccoli and cauliflower? 

A. Broccoli, though quite similar to cauliflower, is a plant taking longer 
to mature. It does not make so dense a head as cauliflower and the head 
is often divided in sections by leaves protruding through it. Broccoli, as 
a rule, is cultivated in a more southern climate than cauliflower. 

413. Q. Can a fixed variety of rhubarb be obtained from seed ? 

A. Not absolutely ; but great improvements have been accomplished in 
the last few years. A positively fixed type can only be had from cuttings 
from roots from an approved type. 

414. Q. What effect has drought upon root crops, such as beet, carrot 
and parsnip? 

A. It reduces the product and results in a crop of dry, tough, inferior 
roots and a stock more likely to decay than if it had been grown under 
healtiiy conditions. Drought sometimes causes them to shoot to seed the 
fiist season. 

415. Q. Willi a few exceptionf?, all my neighbors who planted Lan- 
dreths' turnip seed failed to obtain good bulbs, only strings; but I got a 
crop. How is that ? 

A Unfavorable circumstances as respects soil and other conditions. If 
one man succeeded and others did not, the trouble was not with the seed 
but was local ; anyone should clearly see that. 

41G. Q. Is self-blanching celery tender and crisp, or must it be earthed 
up like other celery ? 

A. The term "self-blanching" only indicates that the plants have a 
habit of developing stocks and leaves from which a portion of the usual 
green color has been eliminated by selection. The blanching habit does 
not indicate a crisping habit ; that is only obtained by exclusion from the 
sun, banking in earth or between boards. 

417. Q. I noticed the other day an old trucker running a wheelbarrow 
over his beet seed which he had just finished drilling. What was the 
object? 

A. To "firm " the soil ; that is, to compress the seed and soil that they 
might be brought into contact to hasten germination and facilitate vege- 
tation. 

418. Q. My beans this year have all spotted. Can I do an3'thing 
another year to prevent the recurrence of this effect ? 

A. You can adopt a preventive. Bathe tiie seed beans before sowing 
in a copper solution, but don't spray the vines when they are bearing 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 73 

marketable pods with such a solution, as the pods might carry the 
poison. 

419. Q. How is it seed sown in the drill very often comes up in spots ? vitality. 
Does it indicate unvital seed ? 

A. The question almost answers itself, for, if the seed sown sprouted 
thickly in several places or even in one place, it demonstrates that had the 
conditions been good there would be an equal germination all over the 
field ; that the seed was all right — something else was wrong. 

420. Q. How is it that double varieties of flowers can't be produced Doublo 
from seed with the same reliability as single sorts ? 

A. Double flowers are abnormal, that is, out of the ordinary form. 
The sexual organs often becoming entirely changed in development, often 
indeed becoming leaves themselves. 

421. Q. Can I apply Paris green to my small cabbages? ^aris Green. 
A. Yes, when they are very small, as subsequent rains will wash out 

from the joints any of the mineral poison which may lodge there; but 
when the plants are heading it would be criminal to apply Paris green. 

422. Q. What is the cause of smut on onion sets and how can it be pre- Onion Smut. 
vented ? 

A. It is a fungous growth which may be partially prevented by bath- 
ing the seed in a copper solution and by spraying the plants with the 
same. A soil-dressing of salt has a good efl"ect. It can be had in kainit, 
which also contains potash. 

423. Q. Can crops be bred to ripen earlier by selecting seed stock from ^^"p® '^®®'^' 
plants not thoroughly ripe? 

A. Yes, a very noticeable result can be obtained after three or four 
years of diligent application. By that time the slock is truly a pedigree 
stock and will develop a character of marked earliness compared with 
the stock from which it was originally derived. 

424. Q. What is your experience with Winter or turf oats ? Winter Oats. 
A. On our Virginia plantations we have cultivated it for thirty years 

with great satisfaction. It produces a greater number of pounds to the 
acre of heavier seed than we can obtain from any other sort. We sow it 
in September and it gets a foot high by December. It can be pastured 
all Winter but not after starting in the Spring. 

425. Q. How is it that to obtain a continued bloom from sweet peas the Sweet Peas 
flower should be regularly cut ofl ? Blooming. 

A. Simply because sweet peas are like everything else : if allowed to 
develop seed the drain upon tlie vitality of the plant absorbs all its vigor 
and flowering almost ceases. It is the same with cucumbers. Cut off the 
young, green pickles, and there will be continuous blooming ; but permit 
the first settings to form large fruit and the blossoms will cease to appear. 

420. Q. Can sweet peas be successfully grown in the Southern States ? f^®®* ^«** 

A. Certainly ; but the seed must be sown in November, December or " **" ' 
January, that the vines be developed in the early Spring months. 

427. Q. Is it possible to keep watermelons till January and retain their Melons, 
flavor? 



74 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Radish. 



Egg Plant, 
Sowing Seed. 



£ngliflli 
lieans. 



Harlequin 
Bug. 



Nomencla- 
ture. 



Ag^ricultore. 



A. Melons of late development picked before they are ripe, can, in an 
ice house, be kept till January, with the flavor still attached to them. 
But a man's desire for watermelon is not so keen when the thermometer 
is below the freezing point as when it is up in the nineties. Consequently 
he turns from it with the remark that it hasn't any flavor. 

428. Q. I have a patch of radish grown from a remnant of your seed 
left over from last year ; then the crop was fine, but this year the plants 
shot up to seed without making bulbs. 

A. This will sometimes happen, and is a consequence of local condi- 
tions. Each case has its own explanation. Such results are unprofitable 
to market gardeners, but they never give us any concern, for we cannot 
control soil treatment or meteorological conditions. 

4'29. Q. Down here in Florida I have to sow my egg plant seed in 
August. What is the best system? 

A. The worst system is to plant the seed in a permanent location out in 
the open sunlight. If that must be done, shade the planting spots with 
palmetto leaves. The better system is to sow the seed in cold frames, 
where they can be watered with manure liquid and removed to the field 
on a rainy day. Still better to spot the seed in strawberry boxes or pieces 
of tough turf and nurse them in the shade till three inches high. Set out 
in this way and they won't know they were moved. 

430. Q. In England, as a boy, I was almost brought upon broad beans. 
Why are they not used here? 

A. Very few people in America use English broad beans, as the cut- 
short or snap-short varieties are superior. Americans have no room for 
them; in fact, they won't stand an American sun. 

431. Q. We are troubled in our cabbage fields this year with the green- 
andyellow bug, somewhat like the large hulybug, but bigger— better 
described as like a terrapin. What can we do to destroy it ? 

A. It is the harlequin bug, one of the worst of all insect pests. It is a 
juice sucker and cannot be destroyed by mineral poisons applied to the 
foliage, as it does not eat foliage but pierces tlie stem and extracts the sap. 
It can only be destroyed by hand picking and by sutlbcating it by clog, 
ging up its breathing apparatus. 

432. Q. Why is it that there is so much confusion in the names of veg- 
etables? 

A. The irregularities of nomenclature can never be regulated by law 
or by the resolutions of horticultural associations, for dealers in seeds 
prefer to add to the confusion rather than lessen it. New names to old 
things give opportunities for new descriptions and higher prices. 

433. Q. Is agriculture a failure ; that is, is it unprofitable ? 

A. That depends on what constitutes success. If success alone means 
a big fortune and prominence in city life, then agriculture is indeed a 
failure ; but if it means a healthy bodily constitution, a fair accumulation 
of worldly eflfects, and a spirit more contented than possessed by men in 
other pursuits, then agriculture is a success. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 75 

434. Q. What is an onion set? wiiatisan 
A. It is a bulb prematurely matured, a consequence primarily of pecu- Onion Set? 

liar climatic conditions, and secondarily a result of thick seeding and con- 
sequently starvation. It is not a perfectly matured bulb, else, however 
small, it would produce seed the following year. On the other hand, it is 
not a bulb arrested in its growth by violence, as by pulling up and wring- 
ing off the green top, as is generally the case in the treatment of Western 
onion sets, often sold at what appear to bo cheap prices, but really very 
dear prices. The leaves of a true onion set always die down perfectly. 
The climate of Philadelphia for one hundred years has been recognized 
as particularly adapted to the growth of onion sets ; indeed, there, noth- 
ing but sets can be grown, for try ever so hard and frequently to produce 
onions from seed, they seldom or never can be developed. Every plant 
makes a sot ; the climate forces them to it. The writer does not believe 
good keeping sets, or first-class sets in any particular, can be grown in 
any locality where full sized market onions can be grown, the conditions 
required fur the one crop being antagonistic to the other. 

435. Q. Does the color of beet leaves indicate the color of their roots? Beet i^eaves, 
A. Not always. Some beets, as the Dark Red Turnip forms, have dark Color. 

red foliage, but the Long Blood Red, having a flesh fully as deeply col- 
ored as any other, has leaves of varied colors, some red and some green, 
the flesh of the green leaved roots being fully as red as the red -leaved roots. 

436. Q. What does the word "Savoy" signify, as applied to spinach savoy. 
and cabbage ? 

A. The expression "Savoy" was first attached to cabbage when a 
small, crumpled-leaved variety was introduced from the kingdom of Savoy, 
Italy. Subsequently David Landreth found a spinach with crumpled 
leaves which he called "Savoy spinach," because it was crumpled like 
the leaves of the Savoy cabbage. 

437. Q. What does the word " Cos " signify as applied to lettuce ? Cos. 
A. It is applied to a sort wh'ch originated, or at least was found, on 

the Island of Cos, near Malta, in the Mediterranean sea. 

438. Q. What is the effect of nitrate of soda on garden vegetables ? Nitrate of 
Can it be used to the exclusion of other fertilizers? Soda. 

A. Nitrate of soda is valuable for its nitrogen, one of the four princi- 
pal essentials to plant growth, which are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash 
and lime. This being the case, nitrate of soda, it will be perceived, is not 
a complete food and should not be depended upon exclusively. Nitrogen 
can be had in many other forms. 

439. Q. Why do cabbage plants so often act differently as respects the Cabbage. 
production of heads when the treatment has been just the same? 

A. Variability as respects heading, as evinced by a want of uniformity 
of heading or period of heading, is all due to conditions, many of them 
beyond our observation. Oftlimes an injury is received by plants in the 
seedbed, or it may be frost, or excessive drought, or it may be the con- 
dition of the land into which the cabbage was transplanted. 



76 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS, 



Plant 
Dejjeueracy. 



Cheat. 



Trausplant- 
ing. 



Fences. 



Cloche. 



Insects or 
Fungi. 



Clover or 
Feas. 



440. Q. Do plants run out or degenerate ? 

A. Families seUlom run out, but varieties frequently do. For instance, 
the potato as a family was never equally developed in all good qualities. 
as at present, but there have been hundreds of instances of particular 
sorts of superlative merit which are now forgotten varieties whicli degen- 
erated and passed out of use. Such degeneracy applies move particularly 
to those specific sorts of plants as are propagated by grafts, buds or tubers, 
as in those cases the collective diseases of more or less remote parents, 
scions or buds are often passed down through a long line of progeny. Not 
so with other plants produced from true seed, as either through the male 
or female Hower the blood by impregnation is changed and the product 
generally strengthened physically. 

441. Q. Does wheat turn to cheat? 

A. No. Seed of cheat, a hardy grass, botanically known as Bromvs 
aicnlinns, is often sold in imperfectly cleaned seed wheat, and being n»ore 
hardy than wheat survives wheat in severe Winters. The ignorant 
farmer then jumps to the idea that his wheat has turned to cheat. 

442. Q. "Why are root crops intended for seed nearly always trans- 
planted ? 

A. To induce a degree of debility of constitution — to check the luxuri- 
ance of growth, all of which induces a disposition to shoot to seed and 
helps to maintain a standard quality. 

443. Q. What is the cost of supporting the fences in the State of Penn- 
sylvania ? 

A. The official report places the annual repairs at about ten millions of 
dollars. 

444. Q. What is a cloche? 

A. A large bell glass about sixteen inches high and broad, used in 
France to force vegetables. A gardener with 100 of these can surpass all 
his neiglib<irs in forcing early vegetables. Particularly valuable in the 
forcing of salads, radish, and in the protection of vines from cucumber 
bugs. 

44i. Q. Which is most to be dreaded by the gardener — destructive in- 
sects or fungi? 

A. Fungi most decidedly, as it works so insidiously. Insects can be 
seen and partially understood, picked off, frightened otT, killed oil ; but 
parasitic fungi may be present for weeks without it being recognized. 
There are many forms of fungi feeding upon the leaves and roots of 
garden vegetables, most of them fortunately too trivial to deserve notice, 

416. Q What advantage has Scarlet clover over Red clover for plow- 
ing under as a green manure, and has one or either any advantage over 
Southern cow pea ? 

A. No advantage, except that the Scarlet clover is very rapid in devel- 
opment, attaining in a season, from August to June, as much development 
as R<-d clover would arrive at in twice the time. Cow peas sown in July 
CUM be plowed under iu September and October, and are very good feriil- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 77 

izers, being potash gatherers from the soil below and nitrogen gatherers 
from the air above. 

447. Q. How late can Crimson clover be successfully sown In the lati- Scarlet 
tude of Savannah ? Clover. 

A. Sown as late as November Ist, it should attain a sufficient vigor of 
growth to make a big crop in the Spring ; sown later, it will of course 
flourish, but a big crop of hay to cut or green stuff to plow under cannot 
be looked for unless the plant had a good start in Autumn. No striking 
fertilizing results can be expected from a plowed-under crop of Scarlet 
clover where the sowing of seed has been late and where the plowing 
under is early, as its merit consists in the collection of potash from the 
soil by the roots and of nitrogen by the leaves and roots for storage in 
the root galls, and all this cannot be done to any great extent between 
November and April. Sown in August the results are better. 

448. Q. Is there a marked difference in the habit of tomatoes grown Tomatoes, 
upon light and heavy snils ? 

A. Grown on light soils the vines are puny, the foliage small and sparse, 
the fruit small but very early, and l)ecause of thin foliage liable to sun- 
burn. On heavy soil the conditions are just the contrary. 

449. Q. What is your experience in the use of Lobos guano? Lobos Guano 
A. It is that it is not worth quarter the money asked for it. No reliance 

can be placed upon it for the making of a crop. Put your money in some 
other fertilizer. 

450. Q. My cabbage plants in beds, now ready for setting in the field, Cabbage 
are ruined by black stem, the bark of the stem slufflng oS. Wliat is the Fungus, 
trouble and what the remedy ? 

A. The disease is a parasitic fungous growth. There is no remedy that 
■would justify the assumption of subsequent expenses on your cabbage 
crop. Better pull up and burn the entire lot of plants and purchase 
healthy plants from an unaffected bed. 

451. Q. What is leaf blight ? teaf Blight. 
A. It is a decay consequent upon arrested nutrition following insect or 

fungous attack. Leaf blight as an expression does not indicate the nature 
of disease, for the blight may follow ravage by either insects or fungus. 
Leaf blight on garden vegetables is generally the outward sign of a para- 
sitic fungus known also as rust, mold, smut, mildew. It is difficult to de- 
scribe the almost inconceivable smallness of the most destructive garden 
fungi. 

452. Q. How is a resin wash made? Resin Wash. 
A. Take three pounds pulverized resin, one pound pulverized caustic 

Boda, one gallon fish oil, and, with sufficient water, boil till dissolved and 
an hour longer. Add twenty gallons of water, strain and spray. This 
is a go<:d insecticide for sap suckers, acting by contact. 

453. Q, Name a good preventive against the cutworm in corn. Cutworm. 
A. Kainit, a potash salt which destroys the worm while at same time 

Btimulaling the plant to vigorous growth. 



78 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Grubs. 



Arsenical 
I'ui.soiis. 



Grasses 

for 

dry soils. 



Fnngi and 
Insects. 



Plant 
Diseases. 



Pea Mold. 



Rye Grasses. 



Half-ripe 
Seed. 



Vegetable 
Diseases. 



454. Q. Wlmt is the best application to check the ravages of under- 
ground grubs ? 

A. Kerosene emulsion has been found beneficial upon root-crops of 
radish, and will be found offensive to all grubs. 

455. Q. Wliat are arsenical food poisons? 

A. Paris green, arsenite of copper, white arsenic, arsenious oxide, Lon- 
don purple, calcium arsenite. 

456. Q. What kinds of grass are best adapted for culture in arid dis- 
tricts ? 

A. Those with deeply-penetrating roots and others with thickened or 
fleshy, creeping, underground stems. Gramma, Buffalo, Bermuda, and 
Wire grass are the best. Shallow-rooted, broad-leaved grasses won't do. 

457. Q. Do insects dwelling upon garden vegetables eat fungi growing 
upon the same plants? 

A. Yes ; very generally ; and a portion not eaten are taken up by the 
hairs of insects and thus carried from the infected plants to healthy ones. 
Some garden lungi germinate and continue to grow upon the bodies of 
insects. 

458. Q. Is disease hereditary in plants? 

A. By analogy it is so, and it is believed observations have proven it. 
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of caution in the selection 
of healthy seed. 

459. Q. What causes pea mold ? 

A. There are several forms of pea mold. One developed principally 
under conditions of damp, close atmosphere and retarded by drj^ weather. 
Another form is favored by dry atmosphere and retarded by rain. Noth- 
ing can be offered as a satisfactory remedy to destroy the fungus while 
preserving at the same time the value of the crop. 

460. Q. How can I distinguish Perennial Rye grass from the Italian ? 
A The bases of the Perennial are red and flat. The bases of the Italian 

are red and perfectly round. 

461. Q. Can a variety of a garden vegetable be made earlier by growing 
it from half-ripened seed ? 

A. Experiments have demonstrated this to be so, provided the system 
be continued for three or four successive generations. Plants grown from 
such pedigree seed show an early habit because they are weak and puny. 
Continued long enough the resultant crops would become exceedingly 
unproductive. 

462. Q. Are diseases of vegetables increasing? 

A. No ; not to any great extent. But the close intercourse of remote 
sections of the country tends to introduce into every section the fungous 
diseases of every other section, and under the conditions of greatly in- 
creased scientific agricultural knowledge the public has its attention 
called to what some years ago would have passed unnoticed. Then as 
now nearly every esculent vegetable was subject to disease, in fact it is 
rare that any garden vegetable can be found not supporting a foreign 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 79 

growth. In the Bloomsdale experimental garden every plant of every 
family may be said to be affected either in leaf, stem or root, and the 
plants there grown are healthy as can be found anywhere. Smut or mil- 
dew or some other form of disease may be said to be always present. 

4G3. Q. The United States Secretary of Agriculture declares that the The Plow, 
plow is a humbug. Is he correct ? 

A. After he invents a better implement he will be a better authority. 
Political commissioners do not make practical farmers, 

464. Q. What is the potato vine blight ? Potato Blight 
A. The potato is subject to the attacks of several parasitic fungi, two 

or more of which attack clover and lettuce, appearing as patches of white 
film, which, in a few weeks, spread over the entire plant, extract the 
juice and reduce the vigor of the plant so that growth of tubers ceases. 
There is no remedy for this disease, and to prevent its spread exceedingly 
great caution has to be observed in burning all the stems of the infected 
crop. 

465. Q. Where does the white grub come from? White Grub. 
A. Tlie white grub is the larva; of the familiar June bug, or, more cor- 
rectly. May beetle, which, in the early Spring months, enters dwellings 

in the evening, swarming about the lights, buzzing loudly and violently, 
knocking themselves against the walls and ceilings. The perfect insect 
feeds upon the foliage of trees, and is more or less destructive. The eggs 
are deposited in the earth, and hatch in about a month. The grubs re- 
main in the ground, doing little injury till the second Summer, when 
they attack the roots of plants. Tiiey remain as grubs in the earth for 
nearly three years, by wliicli time they reach a length of two inches, and 
often appear in such great numbers as to do immense damage. 

406. Q. My asparagus, now about ready to send to market, is being de- Asparagus 
stroyed by the beetle. What can I do ? Beetle. 

A. Nothing can be done to destroy the asparagus beetle upon the mar- 
ketable shoots, as mineral poisons would be destructive to human life, and 
offensive applications would destroy the value of the crop. 

Asparagus beds past the marketable condition of growth can be dressed 
advantageously with a solution of a tablespoon ful of Paris green in 
four gallons of water, which will be generally found to kill the slugs. 
Sometimes effective results ensue by the application of freshly slaked lime 
wliile the dew is on them, for the least particle of lime touching the skin 
of a slug is certain to kill it. 

467, Q. Why do turnips, beets and carrots keep better some seasons Turnip 
than others ? Preservation. 

A. Probably because better protected from frost— or possibly no amount 
of protection would have prevented decay, as the roots may have been 
sickly, consequent upon an unhealthy growth, the result of Autumn 
weather conditions, either too wet or too dry, or damage by insects or 
fungous growth. 



80 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Kxhftustive 
Crops. 



r.reen 4(jg Q Qj^n J consider a mass of hog weeds plowed under as a raanur- 

Mauuring. j^g ^f the land ? 

A. Yes ; to a small extent ; but not so efficient as if the plants plowed 
under were notod as collectors of potash from soil depths or of nitrogen 
from the air. The benefit from a mass of common surface weeds turned 
under is more from aerating the soil than from any direct fertilizing edect. 

469. Q. Why do some crops seem to poison the land, unfitting it for 
others ? 

A. Crops all act differently upon the soil by taking from it different 
foods or different proportions of food ingredients. Consequently they 
leave the laud in different conditions. Cabbage, for instance, is such a 
ranli feeder that it takes everything it can reach. Spinach the same. 
Other crops seem to render tlie soil inert. Millet, for instance, is so slow 
to cover the land that the soil suffers by exposure to sun, wind and rain; 
it becomes baked and after the millet is cut off seems almost dead. 

470. Q. What are bulbs? 
A. Fleshy buds, generally underground, but sometimes formed on the 

surface. They miglit be termed abbreviated stems of plants. 

471. Q. What is the reason that wheat and other grains are so valuable? 
A. Because of the starch they contaia in admixture with nitrogenous 

matter. 

472. Q. Why is a potato called a tuber? 
A. The natural formation of the potato has to be called something, and 

it might just as well be called a tuber as something else. The word is 
from a Latin root, to swell. It is an enlarged underground bud. 

473. Q. Do plants breathe ? 
A. Certainly ; though not exactly in the sense of animal respiration. 

Plants, however, take in air and decompose it, retaining certain portions 
and rejeiting others. 

474. Q. How much water do plants exhale? 
A. Wheat, peas, beans, during their season of growth transpire quite 

two hundred times their dry weight of water. An acre of cabbage will 
transpire in a day over ten tons of water. 

475. Q. To what distance can pollen be carried ? 
A. Cases are recorded where pollen has been wafted thirty miles. 

476. Q. How long will pollen retain its vitality ? 
A. Sometimes for months— quite long enough to transport it from one 

country to another. 

477. Q. What are the longest instances of retention of vitality in seeds? 
A. Seeds of leguminous plants have been known to sprout after being 

kept for sixty years. Rye has been known to sprout after one hundred 
and forty years. 

478. Q. How can the germination of seeds be stimulated ? 
A. By soaking in weak chlorine water. 

Sowing Seeds 479. Q. Is it the best policy in sowing small seeds, as turnip, spinach, 
carrot and beet, to drill on the level or on ridges. 



Bulbs. 



Starch. 



Tubers. 



Inhalation. 



Exhalation. 



Pollen. 



Pollen. 



VitaUty. 



Germination. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 81 

A. On ridges ; but not more than of one inch elevation when settled 
down. On ridges the seed just drilled is not subject to flooding by rain 
and throughout the season is more easily kept clean. 

480. Q. When spraying plants how much solution should be applied? Spraying. 
A. Just enough to thoroughly moisten tlie foliage of the plants. 

481. Q. Can a fungus working beneath the surface of the soil be checked Fungus. 
by Bordeaux mixture? 

A. Very doubtful. 

483. il. Can cabbage plants which have developed club root be made Club Root 
healthy by any application ? '" 

A. No. Once the fungus has taken hold of a cabbage plant no appli- 
cation will make that plant healthy. As in the case of turnips, a preven- 
tive is an application of sixty to seventy bushels to the acre of air- 
slacked stone lime. 

48.'3. Q. What is the best remedy to use in the treatment of club root in ciub Root 
turnip? •» 

A. There is no remedy to arrest the disease, but air-slacked stone lime'''^*'**'' 
used at the rate of seventy to eighty bushels to the acre, and applied be- 
fore the sowing of the seed, retards if it docs not destroy the fungus. 

48i. Q. IIow can I make Bordeaux mixture? Bordeaux 

A. Provide half sections of wliisky or vinegar barrels in which to do Mixture, 
the mixing and contain tlie solution. Take as follows, or in greater pro- 
portions, five pounds sulphate of copper, five pounds quicklime, twenty- 
five gallons water. Dissolve tlie sulphate in two gallons of hot water, 
slack the lime in two gallons of water, and thoroughly strain it to remove 
all sediment, and when cold mix it with the solution of sulphate. Then 
mix the whole In the remaining twenty one gallons of water. 

485. Q. What is the name of the bean rust and how can it be prevented? Bean Ru»t. 
A. The bean rust is a fungus known as anthracnose, and it attacks not 

only the pod but the foliage and stems. A partial preventive is, as soon 
as the young plants are above ground to spray them with Bordeaux mix- 
ture and repeat the application every week, 

486. Q, What is the best spraying solution to stop leaf blight on potato Spraying, 
vines ? 

A. Bordeaux mixture reduced to half strength by the addition of water. 

487. Q. Do you advise a bath for potato seed before planting ? PoUto Bath. 
A. Yes ; plunge the cuttings for two or three hours in a solution made 

in the proportion of ten ounces of corrosive sublimate to eight gallons of 
water. This deadly poison is a preventive of the fungus causing scab 
on young potato tubers. 

488. Q. What should be done to drive off the squash bug ? Squash Bug. 
A. As these bugs are sap suckers no application of mineral or other 

poisons is effective. The only remedy is after the crop is over to destroy 
all vines and avoid planting on the infected ground. 

489. Q. What is the best remedy against the striped cucumber beetle ? Cucumber 
A. There is no best remedy. Spraying with arseniles applied from an Meetie. 



82 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Larrae. 



Squash Borer 



Melon Lice. 



Kerosene 
£mulsion. 



Kerosene 
£mulsion. 



Use of 
Paris Green. 



Destruction 

of 

Insects. 



Plant Foods. 



under-spray nozzle is sometimes eflFective, as they are consumers of leaf 
tissue, but they are insects hard to fight. 

490. Q. What are larvic ? 

A. Worms or grubs hatched from the eggs of insects. The larvae form 
is that in which insects do most damage to vegetation. After a time the 
larvjc assume the quiescent state, or pupa form, in which they exist during 
Winter, to appear in Spring in a fourtli form, the perfect or imago form. 

491. Q. Is there a remedy against the squash vine borer? 

A. None yet known. An elfective plan is to kill the moths, which can 
be done after sunset, when they roost in full view upon the leaves. 

493. Q. My melons are covered with lice. What shall I do ? 

A. Spray with one pound whale-oil soap dissolved in six gallons of 
water, or with fish-oil soap dissolved in eight gallons of water ; or, still 
better, use kerosene emulsion. Bordeaux mixture or Paris green is of no 
value in this case, as these insects are of the sap-sucking order, 

493. Q. How is kerosene emulsion made ? 

A. Take a half pound of common softsoap and one gallon of water, 
and, by agitation, make a complete sud. Mix this sud by violent churn- 
ing with two gallons of kerosene. It is a contact insecticide of great 
penetrative power and must be diluted by ten or twelve parts of water. 

494. Q. Against what insects can I use kerosene emulsion ? 

A. It is effective against all garden lice, rose slugs, leaf rollers, root 
maggots, hairy caterpillars and scale insects. 

495. Q. Can anything be done to prevent Paris green from burning 
foliage? 

A. One pound of Paris green to one hundred gallons of water is a 
rather strong solution, but to one hundred and fifty gallons of water one 
pound of Paris green is safe. Safety can be assured by adding four gal- 
lons of limewater. 

496. Q. Can all garden insect pests be destroyed alike ? 

A. No ; because there are two distinct orders of insects destructive to 
garden vegetables — the leaf eaters and the sap suckers. The first take 
leaf matter into their stomachs and can generally be poisoned by a variety 
of substances, as Paris green, London purple, etc. The second order can 
only be destroyed by bodily contact with some application which, if suc- 
cessfully applied, stops the breathing apparatus of the insects. This ma- 
terial may be preparations of oil, tobacco dust, pyrethrum, lime, 

497. Q. Can vegetables and farm crops be divided into classes, each re- 
quiring distinct food? 

A. Partially so, and divided into three classes : 

1. Those requiring an excess of potash, as peas, beans, potatoes, clover, 
flax. 

2. Those requiring much nitrogen, as beets, cabbage, oats, wheat, bar- 
ley and hemp. 

3. Those requiring large amounts of phosphoric acid, as radish, turnip 
and corn. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 83 

498. Q. What are the average commercial prices of fertilizers, taking Vaine, 
each separately ? Plant Food-. 

A. The average prices of the leading four manurial substances are : 

Bone phosphate of lime 1^ cents per pound. 

Nitrate of potassa 6^ " " 

Nitrate of soda : 2^ " " 

Sulphate of ammonia 3^ " " 

Sulphate of lime ^ " " 

499. Q. Is nitrogen as necessary as writers make out ? Value of 
A. Nitrogenized matter in the soil is absolutely necessary to the growth Nitrogen. 

of vigorous crops ; and the fact cannot be too strongly impressed on every 
gardener that nitrogen and phosphoric acid are the leading manurial ad- 
ditions required, and a cheap and efficient method of application should 
occupy his constant attention. 

500. Q. How do plants get nitrogen ? Source of 
A. Nitrogen, in the form of atmospheric ammonia, is largely obtained Nitrogen. 

by plants through their leaves, but to an equally large extent does the 
soil get it by absorption, and, if covered, it holds it ; and in this simple 
fact is one of the several secrets of green manuring, the entire benefit not 
being through plant absorption. 

501. Q. Where can I get nitrogen ? Nitrogen 
A. Assimilable nitrogen may be had, to the extent of twenty per cent.. Supply. 

in sulphate of ammonia, fifteen per cent, in nitrate of soda, fourteen per 
cent, in nitrate of potassa, or it can be had in dried blood or flesh from 
slaughter houses or fish factories. The nitrates, preferably that of potassa, 
are best for vegetables, especially root crops ; the sulphates for the cereals. 

502. Q. Where can I get potash ? Potash 
A. Potash is contained in wood ashes, but is obtainable in larger quan- Supply. 

titles in nitrate of potassa, comm'only known as saltpetre, which salt 
should contain forty-five per cent, potash, with the valuable addition of 
fourteen per cent, of nitrogen. 

503. Q. Where can I get phosphate of lime ? Phos h t 
A. Phosphate of lime can be had, to the extent of fifty per cent., in supply. 

bone dust, seventy per cent, in bone ashes and bone black, and in super- 
phosphate of lime, which is phosphate of lime treated with sulphuric 
acid, and which, when properly done, should contain forty per cent, of 
soluble phosphate. 

504. Q. How and where is lime found ? time 
A. Lime is found chiefly in the carbonate of lime, as chalk or limestone, 

and in the sulphate of lime, as gypsum or plaster of Paris. The sulphate 
is best, as most soluble. 

505. Q. Where do plants get their food? pj ^^y ^^ 
A. Plants draw some food from the air by their leaves, but most from 

the earth by their roots. The composition of the air is quite constant. 



84 



QUERIES AND ANSWER3. 



CHbbage 
Woriu. 



Kerosene 
Eiuulsiuu. 



Cabbage 
Louse. 



Oaion Fly. 



Sped to Sow 
luO lards. 



but the character of the soil is exceedingly variable, and crops grown 
continuously upon a soil draw out one or more of its nutritive principles ; 
consequently, it can only be reinvigorated by returning to it those ele- 
ments removed in the crops. 

50C. Q. What shall I apply to my cabbage to kill the green worm ? 

A. The cabbage worm is a green caterpillar, feeding on nearly all 
broad-leaved vegetables, especially cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce. It 
is the larvae of a white butterfly of European origin. Paris green will 
poison these caterpillars, but, except in the very early stages of cabbage 
growth, it is unsafe to apply so poisonous an article to a plant whicii 
might enfold the poisonous compound within its leaves and kill those who 
afterwards ate the plant. Pyrethrum has been found eflective. 

507. Q. Are there several ways of preparing kerosene emulsion ? 

A. Yes ; several ways of arriving at the same end — as take : One part 
sour milk, two parts kerosene, thoroughly mixed by rapid agitation till 
the combination forms a creamy liquid. To this add fourteen parts water, 
and apply by an injector, or dash over the vines with a broom. The 
emulsion may also be made with : One quart soft soap, one quart kero- 
sene, two quarts water mixed by forcible agitation, and diluted with 
sixteen quarts of water. Apply to tlie plants forcibly with a syringe. 

508. Q. Can I kill the cabbage louse? 

A. The Downy cabbage louse is a mealy, soft-bodied insect, sometimes 
appearing in thousands, swarming- like bees upon the leaves of young 
cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. It can be checked off by the 
application of kerosene emulsion, but it is difficult to drive it oflf entirely. 

509. Q. Can the ravage of the onion fly be stopped ? 

A. Equal parts of wood ashes and land plaster dusted very thoroughly 
on the young plants will generally drive them off. An application of 
some efficiency is, one part of Paris green, mixed with forty or fifty parts 
of land plaster or flour. 

510. Q. Give me a rule to indicate how much seed to purchase for a 
garden, the length of the rows in such case being one hundred yards. 

A. One ounce of cabbage, cauliflower, collards, broccoli, Brussels 
sprouts, egg-plant, kale, kohl-rabi, pepper. All these to be transplanted. 

Two ounces of onion, leek, lettuce, endive, parsley, canteloupe, squash, 
pumpkin tomato, turnip. 

Three ounces of carrot, cress, celery, chervil, watermelon, parsnip, 
herbs. 

Four ounces of cucumbers, nasturtium, rhubarb, salsify, scorzonera. 

Five ounces of beet. 

Six ounces of radish, spinach. 

Eight ounces of corn salad. 

Twelve ounces of okra, asparagus. 

One pint of field corn. 

One quart cf sugar corn. 

Three quarts of bush beans, peas. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 85 

511. Q. What are the signs for planting garden ? Planting 
A. la the Northern and Middle States the average season for open-air ^'&"** <"^ 

seeding may be indicated by the blooming of well-known trees and 
shrubs, though seeding may be made with profit both before and after 
such periods, as it is a safe rule in gardening to divide the risks. For in- 
stance, when the peach is in bloom sow those seeds which will germinate 
in cold soil, resist slight frost, as peas, spinach, onion and leek. When 
the oak bursts its leaf buds sow beet, carrot, celery, lettuce, parsnip, rad- 
ish, salsify, turnip, tomato. When the blackberry is in bloom sow those 
seeds which will thrive only in warmer soil, as the bean, corn, cucumber, 
canteloupe, watermelon, pumpkin, squash, okra. 

512. Q. How much time must I give my seeds to sprout before deciding Germination, 
to break up the land and sow a second time? Time 

A. The lime required in germination greatly varies, dependent upon 
the species of plant, the age of the seed and the surrounding conditions 
of soil and atmosphere. Under favorable circumstances, peas, beans and 
corn should sprout in three days ; cabbage, turnip and radish in four 
days ; vine seeds, such as melon, squash and cucumber, in five or six 
days. Germination, however, does not guarantee vegetation, as seeds 
showing a germ may never appear above ground if physically weak, if 
too deeply covered, or if the soil is hardened by rain or heat. 

513. Q. Which is the greater loss to the garden, unvital seed or impure Unvitai or 
ggp^l ^ Impure Seed. 

A. If seed prove unvital a new purchase can be made and a new plant- 
ing follow within a few days ; but impure seed is more deceptive, as its 
very vigor secures the crop attention and labor to be subsequently found 
wasted. Of the two evils, unvital seed or impure seed, the first, by all 
odds, is the least. 

514. Q. Must I thin all my crops, or leave some just as they sprouted? Thinning 
A. Do not hesitate to thin out, no matter how sturdy and attractive the ^ 

plants may be, for the plant which crowds another is simply a weed. 
This thinning should be done before the plants be drawn or elongated in 
their stems or leaves, or they will ever afterwards show the injurious 
effects of crowding. It may be done by cutting out with a hoe or knife 
those plants which are not needed elsewhere, or, if considered worth 
transplanting, they should be carefully dug up, that the finer roots be 
preserved. Xo vegetable or flower will pro[)erly develop if crowded ; 
certainly one symmetrical plant is worth a dozen sickly ones, not only 
for market but in general satisfaction. 

515. Q. Why do some seed merchants commit errors in filling orders Errors by 
for seed ? Seed 

A. Because their employ 6s are human. When seed buyers are ready ^'®'"*'**'**''' 
to pay better prices for seeds perhaps the merchants can afford to employ 
angels to put up the orders ; angels may be infallible, "To err is human ; 
to forgive, divine." 



86 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Bermuda 

Grass. 



Ruta Bagra. 516. Q. Why don't I have better success with ruta baga in Georgia ? 

A. Because you sow it in July — so early that the plants get necky, 
badly shaped and tough. In Virginia we have grown healthy, sweet ruta 
bagas sown as late as August 25th. 
Canteioupcs. 517. Q. After the first picking of our crop of canteloupes, which maybe 
fair, we seldom get any others not injured by the worm. Is there a 
remedy ? 
A. No ; no remedy that is satisfactory. 

518. Q. I have never been able to get seed of the Bermuda grass that 
will germinate, though I have bought it from the most reliable seedsmen. 
Please explain the cause of failure to germinate. 

A. "We have never had any seed that would germinate over ten per 
cent. It cannot be saved in a mature stage, as it drops as soon as ripe, 
and must therefore be cut green, hence the want of vitality. Setting out 
the roots is the only royal road to success with this gra«s. 

519. Q. Is there such a variety as White asparagus ? If so, is it any 
more desirable than the Green-top or Purple ? 

A. Yes ; there is a variety, of fixed habit, producing white shoots. It 
has the appearance of having been bleached and, consequently, is quite 
salable. 

520. Q. Are large canteloupes as sweet as small ones? 
A. Yes. There is no sweeter melon than the Large Montreal, which 

all travelers to Canada never cease to dwell upon. The sweetness de- 
pends more upon soil, long hours of daylight, atmospheric conditions and 
variety than upon size. 

521. Q. What causes stifiFnecked onions? 
A. If the entire crop is stiff-necked it may be attributed to a want of 

such fertilizer, natural or artificial, as is desirable to stimulate quick devel- 
opment of crop, or it may be imported seed. If only a per cent, is stiff- 
necked it may be attributed to thick seeding, or to a mixed lot of seed. 

522. Q. My asparagus bed is now seven years old and good as ever ; 
how long may I expect it to continue productive ? 

A. If the bed is properly plowed and cleaned, and top-fertilized every 
autumn, it should last for five or six years more. Salt at the rate of five 
bushels to the acre is good for asparagus, it stimulates the asparagus, a 
salt plant, and retards weeds. 

523. Q. How many times will wheat start and stop, and start and stop, 
and start again ? 

A. Five or six times — seemingly a provision of nature to fit the most 
important cereal for growth under adverse circumstances. No other 
seed has this quality to so notable a degree. Oats, rye and barley possess 
it to a less extent. 

524. Q. How can I distinguish the True Top onion from the False sort ? 
A. By cutting the sets transversely — that is, across or between crown 

and bottom. If the True Top set, only one heart will be seen ; but if the 
False set, often three or four hearts will be seen, and when such a set is 
planted each heart makes a set. 



Asparagas. 



Canteloupes. 



Onions. 



Asparagus. 



Wheat. 



Top Onion. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 87 

525. Q. Is it true that melon seeds several years old are usually more old Melon 
productive than fresh seed ? Seed. 

A. It is true ; and the reason is that fresh seeds have often so much 
vigor that the plants produce Uttle but stems and leaves, while old 
seeds of less vigor put out many blossoms which set and develop fruit, all 
borne upon short jointed vines. 

526. Q. Why don't cauliflower flourish equally with cabbage? Cauliflower. 
A. Because cabbage will grow in any locality where the soil is good 

and the manuring sufficient, but cauliflower requires particular condi- 
tions, flourishing best in a humid and salt atmosphere. 

537. Q. Is there any vegetable growth which appears to be animal. Fungus. 

A. Yes ; several. One quite common in some gardens is that fungus 
which develops the club root in cabbage, turnip and carrot. The spores 
have tail like appendages which by vibration move along over wet surfaces 
in a life-like manner. 

528. Q. What is the best all-around fertilizer for vegetables ? stable 
A. Well-rotted stable manure from corn-fed and well-kept horses. Manure. 

It contains all the ingredients necessary to a perfectly satisfactory growth. 

529. Q Which is the superior for cattle feeding — beets, carrots or Beets, 
turnips? 

A. Turnips are the least nutritious, but the quickest and cheapest to 
produce. Carrots are very fattening, but are expensive, and they require 
much attention. Beets, more properly Mangold, are the most bulky pro- 
ducers, are rich in sugar and are easily harvested and preserved. They 
are the best for cattle food. 

530. Q. Can a trucker rely upon phosphates to develop his crops? Phosphateo 
A. Yes; if the soil contains nitrates j]iud potash from previous manur- 

ings. Most commercial superphosphates contain valuable proportions of 
nitrogen and often some potash. Heavy soils should have stable manure 
or green crops plowed under to lighten them. Commercial fertilizers do 
not aerate the soil ; upder their continued use soils become very hard. 

531. Q. Does potash help in growing sweet corn ? Potash. 
A. Certainly. Wood ashes, it is well known by all farmers, has been 

found very efiective as a fertilizer to corn crops. But it is not a stimulant 
to early growth, is only felt very late in the season. 

532. Q. How can I rid my land of white grubs ? Grubs. 
A. Apply lime and salt, and plow deeply just after frost, and turn the 

furrow slices upside down so that hard frost may kill the pupa of all in- 
sects awaiting the return of spring. 

533. Q. Why do wrinkled varieties of peas mildew more than hard, Pea MUdew. 
round-seeded sorts ? 

A. Mildew is a cryptogamic development which for some reason occurs 
more frequently upon broad-leaved peas than on those of smaller foliage. 
Early peas hardening their foliage early do not afi"ord so favorable a field 
for the spread of the fungus. 



88 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cab>>itg:e 
\Vortu8. 



Earth Worm 



Ciiulitlowor. 



llog Manure 



Radishes. 



Potatoes. 



Periods for 
Sowing. 



Onion 
Germination. 



Kusty Beans. 



534. Q. What is the best remedy ngtiinst cabbftga worms? 

A. Kill the fli-st brood with Paris grooii, applied to the cabbage before 
they begin to head up. At'ier that stop the Paris green and use hot water 
and kerosene emulsion. 

53o. Q Does the angle worm Injure vegetables? 

A. Not to any extent. It does more good than harm, as it works 
numerous passages through the soil, facilititing drainage, admitting 
moisture to roots of plants and air to part with its nitrogen. 

63G. Q Why cannot I grow aiuliflower in central Pennsylvania ivs 
suceesslully as I formerly did on Cape Cod? 

A. Because of detieieney of humidity in the air — particularly because 
of want of salt in the atmosphere and partially because of want of salt in 
the soil. Caulitlower is of the cabbage family — a salt water plant — and 
seems particularly to flourish in salt-air districts. Try it on a meadow. 

537. Q. Why does hog manure cause the soil of gardens to produce 
wormy vegetables and club root cabbage ? 

A. Because the rich manure attracts living insects to deposit their eggs 
—the grub from which eat anything and everything green, sot't and juicy. 
The same over-rich masses of manure develop fungous growths, and club 
root in cabbage is a result of fungus. 

535. Q. Why is it that some soils won't grow radishes'.' 

A. Radishes will grow, but not good ones, on soils ailected with grubs, 
worms, ants. These conditions are brought about by the use of pig 
manure or night soil. 

539. Q. Why are some potatoes soggy while others, grown same season 
in same locality, are dry and mealy '•■' 

A. Some varieties of potato are never mealy ; and sometimes the 
choicest sorts are soggy on account of unfavorable soil or season. 

540. Q. In making repeated sowings during Summer and Autumn of 
seeds for kitchen garden, how late can I continue to sow ? 

A. Firstly, determine the average dates of slight frost in Autumn and of 
killing frost. Secondly, divide your vegetables into the two classes of 
those which will at once succumb under first frost and those which will 
recover and continue growth till the killing frost. Among the first will 
be vines, beans, eggplants, okro, corn ; among the second, lettuce, spin- 
ach, kale, turnip, cabbage. Thirdly, observe the time required in each 
instance to mature for table use and plant accordingly. 

541. Q. I drilled two patches with your Strasburg Yellow onion seeds 
for sets, sixty ptninds to the acre. One quickly developed finely formed 
sets ; the other dragged along and finally resulted in almost a complete 
failure. Why was this? 

A. This often happens, and is a consequence of conditions, sometimes 
of soil and atmosphere, sometimes of period of sowing, oflener from 
insect or fungous ravages. 

542. Q. Will beans saved from a crop of rusted beans produce in their 
turn a crop of rusty beans? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 89 

A. Quite possible if the Bcaurjn Ib a damp one. A preventive U to 
give the seed a bath for an hour or two in Bordeaux mixture just before 
planting. 

543. Q. What is the right time to remove suckers from sugar corn ? Com Suckers 
A. .Just before coming into blossom, if you must do it ; but let them 

alone and save yourself trouble. The sorts which sucker most are the 
heaviest yielders. Suckers do not reduce the crop of ears, but the removal 
of the suckers reduces the bulk of dry forage. 

544. Q. How many bushels of marketable onions can be grown to the Onion*. 
acre ? 

A. Five hundred to six hundred bushels is an excellent crop, but eight 
hundred is common and twice that number have been reported. 

545. Q. Why do early varieties of corn smut more tlian late sorts? Corn Smut. 
A. Because they have less vigor of constitution. 

546. Q. Is Peruvian guano a perfect manure? Guano. 
A. That depends uf>on its grade. Wiien of first quality it certainly is 

an effective fertilizer, but is more a stimulant than a perfect manure, as a 
thoroughly efficient manure c^mtinues to supplement itself over a long 
period ; this the Peruvian guano does not. 

547. Q. Should an asparagus bed be allowed to go to seed ? Asparagus. 
A. Yes ; that is only natural. The plants if not permitted to develop 

bush and seed would be unhealthy. After frost kills the vines cut them oflF. 

548. Q. What makes radishes pithy ? Kadish. 
A. Generally a want of proper nutrition ; on fairly rich land, where the 

plants grow quickly, the roots will always be solid. 

549. Q. Why is it that cucumber growers who ship slicing cucumbers cacnmbers 
prefer the White Spine ? '"•■ 

A. Because the White Spine is a good producer and because it retains Shipping^. 
its green color during the period of shipment. That is all, and it is 
enough. 

550. Q. Can the watermelon be enlarged in size by hybridizing it with Watenuelon. 
the pumpkin ? 

A. Yes. The market gardeners of New .Jersey understood this years 
ago, and they frequently planted a few Mummoth pumpkins in their 
watermelon patches that they might produce seed which the following 
year would produce Mammoth watermelons. This, however, was always 
done at the expense of quality. 

551. Q. Will squash and pumpkin hybridize ? Hybridlza- 
A. Yes; but only occasionally ; not nearly so freely as supposed by *'*»"• 

those who have a smattering of scientific knowledge. When these fami- 
lies do hybridize the results are wild or unfixed in habit, and sometimes 
the seed from such hybrids will not germinate. Watermelons will mix 
very occasionally with pumpkins same as squash. 

552. Q. Is agriculture a science or an art ? AgTicoitnre, 
A. It is an art, aided and abetted by science ; chemistry, mineralogy, Whatuit? 

physiology, botany and entomology all being drawn upon to demonstrate 
the development or retardation of vegetable species. 



90 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

Botany. 553. Q. Is botany strictly a science ? 

A. In general terms it is, but not altogether an exact one, as much 
must be taken upon the evidence of others, it being impossible for any 
one man or any body of men to have seen and examined all of the one 
hundred and fifty thousand species of known plants. In other sciences 
the observations of the discoverer can be confirmed, but not always so in 
botany. 

Scientiflo 554. Q. Is agriculture or horticulture a study presenting much diver- 

Agrioulture. g^y^ 

A. No study, taken in a scientific aspect, covers so wide a field, or one 
the limits of which are so impossible to attain, as all calculations are dis- 
turbed by fiuctuations in climatic or soil conditions. 
AKriouitiiral 555. Q. Will the agricultural practice of the future be au improvement 

Development ^^ that of the past? 

A. Certainly ; for the intelligent practice of agriculture is now guided 
by science, and in the future it will be ruled by it. Unfortunately, but a 
small proportion of agriculturists will possess scientific intelligence, and 
consequently the practices and errors of the past will be continued by the 
great majority. There will be three classes of agriculturists : the allo- 
gelher unscientific, the practical cultivator with some scientific attain- 
ments, and tlie scientific theorist without practical experience or capacity 
for making things pay. The agricultural experimental stations have 
done more in the past twenty years to disseminate scientific knowledge of 
the action of fertilizers, plant diseases and cures, injurious insects and 
methods of destroying them, than any agency which ever existed. Agri- 
culture is becoming scientific, but it can never be entirely so, as no 
method or system can be depended upon to produce a fixed result, conse- 
quent upon the uncertain eft'ect of meteorological happenings. No art 
will call to its aid to interpret it so many scientific branches as agricul- 
ture, but all that will never make it a perfect science, on account of the 
unfi.xed quantity of heat and cold, rain or drought, the variations of 
which defeat all calculations. 

Onion Sets. 55G. Q. Can I do best by Autumn planting in the high lands of Texas 
•with onion seed or sets ? 

A. Better plant sets, twelve bushels to the acre, in rows at fifteen 
inches apart. Set out in November, they should mature for sale iu 
March. Seed drilled in October would probably be injured by frost. 

Drilled Seed. 557. Q. Is it best when sowing turnip seed to put it in with a seed drill, 
iu rows, or to broadcast it? 

A. It is quickest, cheapest and simplest to broadcast it, but a better 
practice ia to drill it, as drilled seed is put down more deeply into the soil, 
and is therefore able to resist drought under conditions when broadcasted 
surface-sown seed would dry up and die. 

Cabbage. 55S. Q. Will cabbage plants head if the seed is sown where the plants 

are to stand ? 

A. Yes, a portion will head ; sometimes eighty per cent, will head. At 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS, 91 

Other times not over twenty per cent. Cabbages to head properly need a 
check in their continuity of growth, that is, to have a rest as it were, 
when all growth ceases for a time, as is the case when they are taken up 
from a seed bed and transplanted to the field. To attempt to grow a crop 
of cabbage with the idea of getting heads for sale or use without trans- 
planting is a very unsatisfactory system. It is a lazy man's practice, and 
he who pursues it gets as much as he deserves for his want of energy. 

5.'59. Q. What is the best method to exterminate those noxious weeds 
which propagate from the root? 

A. The Canada thistle is the worst example of these. The above-sur- weeds. 
face part to the ordinary observer appears to be an annual, but the root 
is perennial and extends down to about eight inches, and then horizontally 
branches out in various directions, forming on itshorizontal branches buds 
•which send up to the surface apparently new plants the next year. On 
small areas it can be dug out or killed with lime or salt, but upon broad 
fields the most efficient system to destroy it is by constant working so as 
to cut off its air supply. It is just such treatment as should be given to 
all weeds having persistent underground roots. 

5G0. Q. I have the onion maggot every year in my onion sets. Can I 
prevent it? 

A. Not entirely, as the insects which deposit the eggs when the onion OnJon 
seedlings are about two inches high are then flying from field to field. Maggot. 
You can, however, kill off a portion of the larva3 from which these insects 
are developed by burning straw or trash upon your proposed onion patch. 
To do it efliciently a deep mass of burning material will have to be used, 
or only those larvae that lay witiiin one inch of the surface will be 
scorched. Another way to kill the larvae is by the application of about 
400 pounds of nitrate of Boda to the acre, or about 600 pounds of kainit. 
Onions like salt. 

501, Q. Is there any rule by which a novice can distinguish the sex ofsexosin 
garden vegetables? If so, please give it. Vegetables. 

A. Most garden vegetables can be divided sexually into three classes : 

1. Those in which the sexes occur in the same blossom, as in the cab- 
bage or beet. 

2. Those in which the sexes occur in distinct blossoms on the same 
plant, as watermelon, squash, corn. 

3. Those in which the sexes occur on distinct plants, as spinach. 
When any of the plants are in bloom a very little study by an observant 

and intelligent man will indicate the class to which they belong, as it is 
very easy, as a rule, to distinguish stamens, the male organs, from pistils, 
the female organs. 

563. Q. What is the value of millet? MlUet. 

A. The three or four distinct types of millet as ordinarily cultivated 
make very good fodder crops for feeding green, and when cut before the 
stalks get old and hard make good hay. Millet can be mowed for hay 
sixty to seventy days from sowing. There is a popular objection to 



92 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Tomato 
I'uugus. 



Popcorn. 



Egg Flants. 



Mustard. 



Corn 
Quality. 



millet as hay on account of the belief that the small, hard, dry seeds are 
swallowed by horses without mixstication and cause inthunmation of the 
bowels, but millet intended tor hay slunild never be allowed to harden its 
seed before cutting, as at that period its foliage has lost mueh of its value 
for hay. 

5G3. Q. What is the cause of the black spot on the fruit of my tomato 
plants ? 

A. Fungous growth which develops at the blossom end of the fruit, 
located there pn.>bably because the skin is more tender there. The attack 
is most generally in wet or damp seasons. The disease once established 
on a fruit extends its area of surface and cats deep in the fruit, soon ren- 
dering it worthless. Bordeaux mixture is efflcient at tirst to prevent or 
arrest the disease, but it can only be used early in the life of tiie crop, 
and as a precaution against the disease, for being a poison it cannot be 
used on plants bearing fruit ready for consumption. 

504. Q. What makes popcorn pop ? 

A. Take a grain of popcorn, or any corn, and cut it down through the 
middle, exposing the broad surface from top to bottom, and there will be 
observed at the small end, the chit, or germinating part, and surrounding 
it to a greater or less extent and extending up to tlie centre of the grain 
sometimes to the top will be observed more or less white starcliy matter, 
and on both sides and sometimes above it a deposit of oily matter. Now 
it is this oily matter which when heated explodes and turns the grain in- 
side out. Popcorn in proportion to its size develops more oily matter 
than ordinary field corn, and consequently explodes more violently. Any 
other corn with as much oil in it as pop would do as well. 

565. Q. Last year my egg plants were borne down with fruit, but this 
3'ear they don't average two fruit to a bush. IIow is this? 

A. ^lost likely due to imperfect pollination. In the egg plant tlie sexes 
are both found in the same flower, but sometimes pollination does not 
occur so freely as at others due to conditions of rain- fall, or fog. or low 
temperature. In some cases, or in small patches, it would \my to pol- 
linize by hand, which work can be donequickly with the point of a knife. 

566. Q. Among my turnips on a large three-acre field there appears to 
be about twenty per cent, of mustard. One of my neighbors says it is 
from a crop which went to seed on the same land five years ago. Can 
this be so ? 

A. Certainly, and the seed may continue to come up for five years more. 
Mustard being very retentive in vitality many seeds plowed down six and 
seven inches by the plo^v will not sprout in years till brought to tlio sur- 
face by a plowing deep enough to reach them and expose them to the in- 
fluence of the atmosphere. 

567. Q. What constitutes a good type of corn ? 

A. Adaptability to location, productiveness, a small cob to dry out 
quickly, length of ear resulting in diminished labor in husking and 
shelling, dejith of kernel, and closeness of packing upon the grain, sal- 
able color and weight. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 93 

568. Q. Is there any manurial value ia leaf-rakings from woodlands? i^eaf-rakiags 
A. Very little active value, though it is the bawis of humus. Ordina- 
rily it is hardly worth the labor of hauling, except for bedding for pigs 
in pens, or in a barnyard. Under those conditions it is excellent as an 
absorbent. 
509. Q. Is intense cold destructive to the vitality of seeds '! Sfefi, 

A. If the seeds be dry and wellajvered it seldom injuriously aflfects ^ '*^"*'^' 
vitality. Wheat taken by a North Pole exploring expedition as far north 
as 81'^, and left there through five winters where the temperature for 
months stood at 50^^ and Ofp degrees below zero, germinated freely when 
brought to temperate climates. On the other hand few seeds will stand 
for any time a heated temperature over 150^ F. 

570. Q. I have heard of big crops of corn, but never was able to grow Com Crops. 
over fifry bushels of shelled grain to the acre, and would like to know 

how some people who claim to have grown over 100 bushels of shelled 
grain have accomplished it ? 

A. It is only done on strong ground, yet not so strong as to throw all 
the energy of the plant into making leaf. If a corn field is planted in 
hills at ii^ X 3^ feet, and each hill has four stalks producing one ear to 
each stalk and shelling seven ounces to the ear, the yield would be 110 
bushels to the acre. Not infrequently a hill of four stalks will produce 
Ihiee to five pounds of shelled corn. 

571. Q. I have a never-failing stream of water passing through my rish Cuittire. 
farm and write to inquire if the duties of farming and fibh culture would 

conflict, and if there is any profit in fish culture. 

A. There is a good profit in fish culture to those who understand it, but 
nine out of ten fail to realize a profit for a want of the knowledge of the 
requirements to insure success. Hundreds of New England farmers have 
profitable fish pfjnds, and the labor of caring for them does not conflict 
with their agricultural operations. 

572. Q. Why are some perfectly new seeds unvital ? Seed, 
A. It is attributable to a failure of pollination, and the failure to polli- ^ *''^ ^' 

nize may be due to want of a vitality on the part of either the male or 
female plant, or to continued rain or a series of very damp heavy days 
interfering with the transfer or reception of the pollen. This is noticed 
more particularly with the seed of plants in which the sexes are found in 
distinct flowers, or distinct plants as corn, melons and spinach. Nearly 
all perfectly new seeds contain a varying percentage of such unvital seeds, 
generally light, small and stunted, but sometimes as plump as any. 

573. Q. Is the heading of cabbage a natural liabit of the plant, or is it Cabbage, 
an abnormal condition brought about by cultivation. 

A. Not by cultivation, but entirely by selection, covering hundreds of 
years. Heredity in the cabbage originally was in the line of development 
of producing a mass of loose spreading leaves, as in the dandelion, but by 
the selecting of those plants most productive in leaves and most dense, a 
habit was finally formed which became in time a heredity more iorcible 



9-i 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Firming: 
tho Soil. 



Pearl Sets. 



Cabbage. 



Imported 

Cabbage 

Seed. 



lliiin the previous heredity to form flat open centres. This new habit of 
forming a roscltelike heiid beciimo stronger imd stronger till a plant was 
developed in whieh tho lieading habit was its chief characteristic. 

574. Q. I have trouble in getting a good head of lettuce. Which is the 
best way to sow it, and how deep should it be covered ? 

A If the seed is good, that is vital, there should not be any trouble if 
it be properly sown. Of course if the seed is put into the ground and 
covered deeply, only a portion will ever show a sprout above the surface. 
It should never be put into the earth, onl}' put on to it and slightly 
scmtched with a rake, or better still, patted down with a board, or 
tramped down lightly by pressing with the foot every square inch of the 
bed surface. 

575. Q. How can I most rapidly compress seed sown in rows after hav- 
ing finished drilling it in the Held? 

A. Roll it with a farm roller, or wheel a wheelbarrow with a broad tire 
both up and down each row and directly upon the top of each drill mark. 
The seed so compressed will sprout lirst. 

576. Q. You recommend the Bloomsdale Extra Early Pearl Sets for 
Autumn planting in the South. Will you advise me what degree of frost 
they will stand. Here in North Carolina we sometimes have some very 
severe weather, but it is of short duration. If they need protection, how 
can I pnitect them ? 

A. They will stand a zero temperature without injury if it be only for 
a few hours, and if they be well rooted, that is, if they have taken hold of 
the soil before their growth was stopped. We have many times had them 
standing out all Winter on Bloomsdale when tho temperature often went 
below zero. They are full proof against 20^ frost, that is when the mer- 
cury falls to 111^ F. They can be protected by hay, straw, pine shatters, 
but all this kind of covering aflbrds a harbor for mice, squirrel and other 
vermin to feed upon the bulbs. 

577. Q. What is the reason I have so much trouble in growing good 
cabbage. I get the very best seed I can purchase, and make my seed bed 
just as rich andferdle as possible, yet the plants do not grow or bead well 
when put out in the field ? 

A. Your question, perhaps, answers itself, for you say you grow your 
plants on a rich and fertile seed bed, and that is where the dilticulty 
probably comes in. Plants should never be grown on a richer soil than 
that to which they arc to be removed, otherwise they at once upon trans- 
plantation become starved and in ill health. Moved from a poor seed bed 
to a field richer than the bed they at once become invigorated and healthy. 

57S. Q. I have been using cabbage seed which I have imported from 
Europe for seveml years, and I find that in a moist season I can grow 
fine cabbage, while in a dry season they are a total failure. What is the 
reason ? 

A. Because the strain is not acclimated. During a wet season the con- 
ditions resemble those of Europe, but when an American dry spell sets iu 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 95 

the plants from the foreign-grown seed at once meet with a new condition 
and failure results. This being the case, and no one knowing what the 
season will be, it is injudicious to plant foreign seed, as a loss of an entire 
crop may result with its expense of cultivation. American seed from 
thoroughly acclimated stock will do well during either wet or dry weather. 

579. Q. How must I grow cabbage plants to keep over Winter in cold Winter 
frame? In my section the mercury often falls to zero. "^ *^*' 

A. In the latitude of Philadelphia where the mercury often falls below 
zero the seed is broadcasted in the open ground about September 1, and 
when two inches in height transplanted into cold frames, that they may 
take hold of the earth early and become four inches high before hard frost 
stops their growth. In the cold frames the plants are set deeply at about 
one inch apart. The frames are covered with shutters or boards, which 
are removed to give light and air on fine days. 

580. Q. My gardener says my egg plants have damped off. What does Egg Plant 
that imply? Damp. 

A. That the tissues of their roots or stems have been destroyed by a 
parasitic plant, the growth of which has possibly been induced by repeated 
conditions of damp soil and damp air and not enough ventilation, fol- 
lowed at times by too high a temperature. There are a number of species 
of fungi causing a similar decay of young seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, 
cabbage and lettuce. Some confined generally to under-glass culture, 
others occurring in the open field. 

581. Q. My cabbage are infested with the calico bug. What remedy Calico Bag. 
can I take to drive them off? 

A. They won't drive ; nothing but hand-picking and crushing is an 
eflFective treatment. The writer knows it, for he has had to do it in the 
course of many years with thousands of acres of cabbage and turnip 
preyed upon by this bug. The insect is also called the terrapin bug and 
the harlequin bug. It is a sap sucker, consequently Paris green won't 
effect it, or no other outward poison. Oil or emulsions have very little 
influence upon it, and it is a most serious pest. 

58"3 Q. What is that disease of the tomato affecting the leaves and stem. Tomato Curl, 
causing the leaves to curl and finally die? 

A. There are several diseases causing tomato leaves to curl. One most 
general is termed the tomato oedema, caused, it is thought, by an excessive 
rain, a high temperature of the soil, making the roots active in pumping 
up water and iusufHcient light to induce free transpiration, the result 
being an unequal swelling of certain parts and bursting of the tissues, and 
a general weakening of the plant, resulting in the death of entire branches. 

583. Q. Are vegetables grown on naturally rich soil better in flavor Flavor, 
than those grown on worn-out soil made productive by the application of 
fertilizers ? 

A, Grown on rich origin soil the development in size seems to be at the 
expense of fine texture, flavor and good-keeping qualities, while grown 
on well-used soil, the development is less rapid, but the flavor is better. 



96 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Weeils. 



Winter 
Cabbage. 



Weevil. 



Bean 
Weevil. 



584. Q. Why do most weeds grow faster thaa the cultivated plants of 
a garden ? 

A. Bad stocks of all created life, both animal and vegetable, seem to be 
endowed with special reproductive and sustaining powers. The common 
weeds of the field are generally annuals, and, sprouting after the intended 
crop is put in, frequently after it has received its first and second cultiva- 
tion, the weeds must of necessity be of exceedingly rapid growth to ma- 
ture their seed by the time the regular crop is ready for harvesting. Few 
slow growing weeds ever arrive at a stage to develop vital seeds, but the 
quick-growing ones do, and it is with the seeds of such that the soil is 
charged. Weed seeds seem to have greater power of retention of germin- 
ating qualities than seeds of cultivated plants. It is tliose of very strong 
germination which are most common. Few seeds of garden vegetables 
will sprout when but quarter of the age of the seeds of common weeds. 

585. Q. If I sow my cabbage seed in September, broadcast, and get 
them three inches high by hard frost, can I protect them over Winter by 
covering with straw ? 

A. This has been tried frequently, but is generally a failure ; the straw 
is pressed down by snow and the cabbage rots off. Poles placed flat on 
the ground throughout the cabbage would support the snow-covered 
straw and probably be found of advantage. 

580. Q. What is the hardiest cabbage for sowing in September to keep 
over Winter? 

A. Bloomsdale Early Dwarf Flat Dutch is the hardiest. It is a flat 
header, not so early as Jersey Wakefield by three weeks, but a better cold 
resister. A hardy sort, maturing between these two, is the Bloomsdale 
Large York, forming a head similar in shape to the Wakefield but twice 
as large. 

587. Q My barn is full of wheat weevil. IIow can I get rid of them? 
A. There are four or five insects which, in unscientific language, are 

referred to as wheat and corn weevil. One is a moth and exceedingly 
destructive to stored grain, the caterpillar of which is white and about 
two-fifths of an inch in length. Two other grain insects are small red 
beetles, but of distinct species, and a fourth is the black or true granary 
•weevil, about one-eighth of an inch long. All these can be partiallj' de- 
stroyed by subjecting tlie grain to the fumes of carbon bisulphide. When 
the mature insects are found harboring in the cracks and crevices of 
barns they can be destroyed by copious soakings with kerosene oil. 

588. Q. When I lived in Pennsylvania I grew large quantities of gro- 
cery beans, but cannot down here in Carolina as they become full of bugs. 
Is there any remedy? 

A. No ; you will have to turn to other crops. The mature female 
insect of the bean weevil deposits her eggs in a slit which she makes 
on the pods when the bean pods are very small. The eggs hatch and the 
grubs strike for the dark, eating their way tlirough the pod and into tlie 
soft green beans, where they transform to winged insects. As the beau 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 97 

weevil deposits many eggs in one place, many beans will contain six or 
seven grubs. The pea weevil only deposits one egg in a place. 

589. Q. What is implied by humidity of the atmosphere ? Humidity. 
A. The air will take up and hold invisibly a certain amount of moisture ; 

a greater amount will appear as mist, fog, or rain and fall to the ground. 
The full amount of moisture that the air will hold in perfect suspension 
and invisible is, for scientific purposes, estimated at 100, half that quan- 
tity at 50. When the humidity is reported at 90 the air has almost ceased 
to be able to take up perspiration from the human body ; consequently 
the atmosphere is very oppressive, even though the temperature may not 
be above 80° F. Instruments to indicate humidity can be bought for two 
or three dollars and are instructive and useful, same as tliermometers. 

590. Q, What was the biggest crop of corn ever grown in the United Com Crop. 
States? 

A. The crop of 1889 was 3,162,893,000 bushels. The estimated crop of 
1895 is 3,425,000,000 bushels, from 83,000.000 acres. 

591. Q. Are there any Bast fibre plants native to the Middle States Fibre Plants, 
which I can experiment with for fibre? 

A. Yes, two very promising ones. 

1. The Swamp Rose JMallow, a perennial naturally growing in swamps 
and producing straight stems to a height of six feet, but growing just as 
well on upland. Its fibre is a substitute for jule. 

3. Tlie Abutilon or Butter plant, an annual found in nearly all corn- 
fields and growing, in ninety days, to a height of four to five feet. It 
produces a fibre strong, white, glossy, and a good substitute for jute. It 
can be grown wherever Indian corn can be grown. 

593. Q How much Orchard grass seed is grown annually ? Orchard 

A. About three million pounds, nearly half of which is sent to Europe. Grass. 
The production ranges from five to fifteen bushels of fourteen pounds to 
the acre. It is mostly grown in Kentucky and Virginia. 

593. Q. What is the difference between Spring and Winter wheat? "Wheat. 

A. Spring wheat, an annual, is an abnormal form developed by selec- 
tion and climatic conditions from Winter wheat. All wheat, in early 
times, was of the biennial habit. In extremely cold sections of country 
Winter wheat often kills out, and in such parts Spring wheat is cultivated 

to advantfige. 

594. Q. Is a bearded or beardless wheat the best ? Wheat. 
A. Opinions vary upon this subject. A bearded wheat bends over and 

breaks down sooner than a bald wheat, as it holds a greater weight of 
rain. On the other hand it is more self-protective against the ravages of 
birds. 

595. Q. In shipping beans to the Northern markets I frequently receive Bean Rust, 
reports that they have arrived badly spotted or rusted and therefore un- 
salable, though I know they were perfectly free from spots when they 

were packed. Can you explain this? 
A. Probably due to the natural moisture of the pods when packed, 



OS 



QUERIES AXD ANSWERS. 



Red Color 
Mystical. 



Forest 
Growth. 



Celery 

lUii^ht. 



Celery in 
the South. 



Ergot. 



Fertilizing. 



Moon's 
Intluence. 



which developed heat and greatly extended the growth of some fungous 
disease already on the pods. This result can be partially avoided by dry- 
ing and airing the pods under cover in a cool place, as on tables in a 
shed. No vegetable should be shipped direct from the field until it is 
cooled off. 

50G. Q. Why do country horsemen and stable boys tie up the tails of 
their horses with red cloth ? 

A. It is an old tradition that red is the proper thing to use. the color 
being a mystical safeguard against evil spirits. They don't do it for this 
purpose, but simply because it is the practice. 

597. Q. Does soft wood— as pine — or hard wood — as oak and chestnut — 
indicate the agricultural qualities of land ? 

A. Not always ; for many sections of country, without any change in 
soil, naturally develop both, hard and soft forests following each other. 
Two hundred years ago the State of Delaware was covered with hard 
woods, and no oak was superior then, or is now, to the oak of Delaware ; 
but large sections where oak was cut ofi', pines followed, and the soil is 
the same now as then. 

59S. Q. "What causes the blight in celery? 

A. It is caused by a parasitic fungus. A preventive sometimes used 
before the celery crop is planted is kainit. This should be applied not 
only to the field but to the seed bed. 

599. Q. Why cannot I grow celery at Savannah as successfully as I 
formerlj' did at Easton, Pa.? 

A. You can, provided your soil and location is of the proper kind, as 
celery is successfully grown as far South as Tampa, Fhv. As for the soil, 
it should be rich and mucky ; as for the location, it should be upon land 
where a constant understrata of water is near the surface. Celery is a 
bog plant, and should do in many locations on rice plantations, and so 
should cauliflower. It would be found advantageous to shade celery by 
alternate rows of corn or sunflower. 

600. Q. AYhat is ergot on rye ? 

A. A fungus attacking the grain when quite young, producing a horny 
growth of disagreeable odor and quite poisonous. When ergoted grain is 
used for making meal it always develops sickness and sometimes produces 
convulsions, gangrene, and often death. 

601. Q. Can vegetables be fertilized through their foliage? 

A. Not in the open garden, but to a small extent in glass houses, by 
making an artificial atmosphere charged slightly with carbonate of am- 
monia. 

603. Q. I want to put a new shingle roof upon my barn and my country 
carpenter tells me I should only do it during the decline of the moon. Is 
there any force in this? 

A. The proper time to shingle a roof, to plant seed, or to kill pork is 
just when you are ready. All these old-fashioned ideas about the influence 
of the moon are exploded, except in the opinions of a few old-fashioned 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 99 

country people. These believe, as their ancestors did, that shingles put 
upon a roof in the decline of the moon would hold down and lay flat, but 
laid on the increase of the moon would rise up and curl. Some years ago 
a Commissioner of Agriculture, in ofiice at Washington, told the writer 
that he believed in all signs as regulating farm operations ; that he always 
killed beef and pork and planted seeds during the proper phases of the 
moon, and that even a worm fence put up during the decline of the moon 
would stand twice as long as one set during the increase. 

603. Q. I have some seeds of a very choice watermelon, saved twenty Watermelon 
years ago. Will they sprout ? Seed Vitality. 

A. Keep a portion of tliem in a weak solutioa of chlorine, another por- 
tion in a solution of oxalic acid, and sow both in a well-prepared seed 
bed, kept damp, but not wet. A remaining portion fold in a woolen cloth 
saturated with oxalic acid, and keep warm near a stove. If any germs 
appear put the seed at once into earth. 

604. Q. My canteloupe vines bearing nearly full-sized fruits are drying Canteioupe 

up. What is the cause ? Diseases. 

A. If the drying is in spots it may be from a fungous attack, but if it is 
all over the patch and affects all parts of the vine it is either due to defec- 
tive nutrition or to drought. Canteloupes should be deeply plowed when 
last worked ; at that time the plow is the proper implement, the cultivator 
is little good, as the soil should be deeply moved and plenty of it thrown 
up to the roots before laying the crop aside. 

605. Q. Can I successfully grow garden peas on the same land for Peas, 
several years consecutively ? 

A. Yes, if the land be well fertilized with potash, phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen. It will, however, be best to rotate ail crops, each requiring a 
difference in soil foods, some a radical difference, others only a slight 
difference, all taking some, some more, some less, of each food con- 
stituent. 

606. Q. Are turnips for stock food better than mangels, beets or carrots? xumips. 
A. Turnips are not so nutritious, nor so long-keeping as beets or 

carrots, but can be grown at hjilf the expense of labor, and requiring only 
a little over one-half the time from sowing to full development. 

607. Q. What is the onion smut? Onion Smut. 
A. A fungus, very minute, and consisting of small filaments or threads 

formed within the folds of the onion leaves. Tliis fungus when quite de- 
veloped bursts the leaves longitudinally, exhibiting long lines of black 
dust, which are spores set forth to further extend the disease. Once 
located upon a field the only way to get rid of it is to cease raising onions 
on that field. It is contagious ; healthy parts of the field being inoculated 
by the smut carried on tools used in working the affected parts. 

608. Q. Which is the most money- producing agricultural State of the Richest 

Union ? Agricultural 

A. New Jersey, which State, considering its acreage under cultivation, ****** 
produces more dollars' worth to the acre than any other State. This is a 



100 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Spring 
Greeus. 



Transplant- 
iug. 



Air Plants. 



]>Ioi«ture 
Absorbed. 



Cold Frame. 



Phylloxera. 



consequence of its general level surface, and its intermediate location 
between the great consuming cities of Philadelphia and New York, and 
its influx of Summer visitors along its Atlantic coast, all requiring the 
best of all vegetables and in immense quantities. 

609. Q. What plants besides Seven Top and Dixie turnip will do well 
in Alabama fur early Spring greens? 

A. Cabbaging dandelion, Long French sorrel, chickory and Southern 
Snow White turnips. 

610. Q. What sorts of vegetables should be transplanted to stimulate 
their more perfect development? 

A. The transplanting of vegetables cannot be practiced so generally and 
so systematically in the United States as in the moist countries of France, 
Germany and England. In those countries nearly everything can be 
transplanted successfully and to advantage. 

As a rule it is advantageous to transplant lettuce, cabbage, kale, cauli- 
flower, celery, tomatoes, egg plants and peppers. 

Gil. Q. What are air plants? 

A. Au order generally found growing upon the trunks and branches of 
trees. 

Air plants do not draw any nourishment from the trees, consequently 
they grow equally well on dead ones as on live ones, drawing all the 
nourisliment from the air. Familiar examples are found in the very 
ornamental hothouse orchids, and in the long moss of southern forests. 

613. Q. Do plants absorb moisture through their leaves ? 

A. No, not to any appreciable extent. They are great exhalers of 
moisture when the condition of the atmosphere will admit it. When the 
air is full of humidity or rain the exhalation from the leaves is arrested 
and the leaf cells become very much distended by moisture, pufling up the 
tissues, upon which appearance some people think tlie leaves have taken 
in moisture from tlie air. 

613. Q. What is a cold frame? 

A. A box of any size or shupe set down upon a suitable bed of natural 
soil. The box sometimes covered with a window sash or other glass 
frame, sometimes only with a shutter or loose boards. A glass frame 
adds to the warmth of the soil beneath, a shutter or boards protects the 
soil and the contents of the box from injurious effects of rain, cold, or 
snow. 

In ordinary practice a frame is made of sixteen-foot boards placed 
parallel and about six feet apart, the ends closed with other boards. 

A cold frame is so called because it is not a hot one, there being no 
manure beneatli to develop what is called bottom heat. 

614. Q. On what kind of soil is the phylloxera least destructive to the 
grapevine? 

A. On sandy soils, as such soils hold less air and more water, which is 
prejudicial to the rapid increase and development of the insect. Sandy 
soils asphyxiates them. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 10 1 

615. Q. Why are American grape vines so largely planted in European American 
vineyards, and wliy are European sorts so seldom planted in America. Grape. 

A. The roots of American varieties have greater resistent powers 
against the phylloxera. The sorts used are selections from tlie ceslivalis, 
riparia, labrusca, and some few are from the wild forms of Rupestris cordi- 
folia, einerea, Berlandieri. European sorts having very little resistent 
I)()wer are not much used in this country, as they soon become unhealthy 
and die. 

GIG. Q On my farm are two distinct qualities of soil, one section being influence 
loam, the other sand, and curious to understand, the plants in the sand <*^ *»*"**• 
resist drought the best. Why is this? 

A. On a sandy soil water either derived from above as rain, or froni 
beneath by the action of the sun, lodges in the interstices between the 
grains of sand and forces the air out, and in this way a sandy soil may 
hold a large amount of water. 

617. Q. What is the grape insect known as phylloxera? Phylloxera 
A. It originally came from the Mississippi Valley, and was discovered * ^'^^' 

about 1854. Between 1870 and 1880 a large portion of the vineyards of 
France and Spain was destroyed by it, and sul)sequeutly the vineyards of 
all Europe were seriously affected. It is believed the insect was taken to 
Europe attached to roots of American vines. 

Up to 1884 over two million acres of vineyards had been destroyed in 
France, and one million more injuriously affected. A loss estimated at 
$140,000,000. The mature insect hatches out upon the young roots of the 
grape in June, and works its way through the earth to the surface to fly 
away and extend its species. 

Lighting upon young grape leaves, it deposits its eggs, which form leaf 
galls. The grubs hatched in these galls immediately lay other eggs, 
sometimes two or three hundred, tlie larvae from which drop to the earth 
and, penetrating it, are ready in the Spring to affix themselves to the 
roots. These larvte form nodules on the rootlets, and deposit about 
one hundred eggs, to hatch out and recommence in June the round of 
transformations just described. The most tflicient remedy is to saturate 
the soil about the vines with the fumes of bisulphide of carbon, about 
three hundred pounds to the acre. Tliis is done by pumps with small 
penetrating tubes to be forced down among the roots. Flooding or sub- 
mersion to a depth of twelve inches for a period of ten days is beneficial 
in October or May. 

618. Q. What is corn smut? Com Smut. 
A. A minute parasitic [)lant, seldom seen till after some weeks of growth 

within the close envelope of the ear, when it bursts out in a black mass. 

There is no remedy to arrest its growth while saving the ear. Possibly 

soaking the seed corn in blue vitrol might be a preventive. 
610. Q. Is thereany fertilizing value in green oats or rye plowed under? Green 
A. Yes, to an extent; but not so much as derived from crimson clover Manuring. 

or cow peas. There is no object in raising rye or oats to plow under, 



102 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Tomato 
Sbippinj;. 



Mule Plant. 



Cross-bred 
Plant. 



Sun House. 



Asparagus. 



Potato 
Cultivation. 



except that the two crops can be grown so much more quickly than clover 
or peas. 

6"^0. Q. I frequently have received reports from ray commission mer- 
chant in St. Louis that the tomatoes I have sent him, and which I know 
■were perfect when I shipped them, arrived iu a decaying condition. Can 
you give me any reason for this? 

A. Tomatoes which are picked during the heat of the day and packed 
without being allowed to cool thorouglily are almost certain to spoil in a 
day or so. It is just so with beans, and in fact with all vegetables. They 
all should be cooled off. Your commission merchant may be right and 
you may only have yourself to blame. 

631. Q. What is a mule plant ? 

A. A progeny from the fertilization of the pistil or female organ of one 
species of plant by the pollen from them ale organ of a distinct species 
of plant. Two species of the same genus may be tlms mixed, but it is 
uncommon for them to produce seed. They are most generally sterile, 
but not always, for among garden vegetables the cucumber and the melon 
have been crossed and the seed has been fertile. 

623. Q. What is a cross-bred plant ? 

A. A plant raised from seed the product of a variety of some plant of 
one species the pistil of which has been fertilized by pollen from a flower 
of another plant of the same species. As, for example, a red tomato 
crossed with a yellow tomato. 

623. Q. What is a sun house? 

A. A structure on the same principle as a glass-covered cold frame, only 
larger. It is like a greenhouse without artificial heat, depending alto- 
gether on sun heat derived during the day and which it partially holds 
during the night. In early Spring and late Autumn it protects growing 
plants from frost, beating rains, and snow. Such houses are found profit- 
able to market gardeners. 

624. Q. Is asparagus best when cut under the surface and white, or 
when allowed to rise above the surface and become all green ? 

A. Simply a matter of taste. Cut above the surface, three times as 
many bunches can be cut from a bed as when cut beneath the surface. 
The cutting underground destroys many shoots not in sight. For can- 
ners' use it must l)e cut under the surface, as when it gets green it be- 
comes too soft to stand the processes of canning. 

035. Q. I have looked in vain through your catalogue to find out how 
far apart I should plant potatoes. I suppose every farmer knows all 
about it, but I am not a farmer. I want to raise about ten bushels. 

A. If an acre of potatoes averages 150 bushels, then one-fifteenth of an 
acre would be required to produce ten bushels. Now a fifteenth is about 
325 square yards, which is, say, forty yards long by eight yards wide. 
For a small plot like this plow the land, harrow, and open trenches five 
inches deep and two and one-half feet apart. Place tlie potato cuttings 
about eight inches apart and cover with three inches of soil. The culli- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 103 

vating and the rain will, after a time, wash down the whole thing to a 
level. Previous to plowing, the land should be top-dressed with a full 
cartload of well-rotted stable manure, or treated with forty pounds good 
commercial fertilizer. 

626. Q. I find Ivy on the walls of a farmhouse I just purchased. Will i^y. 
it keep the walls damp? 

A. It will keep them dry, as the leaves overlap each other like shingles 
so that not a drop of rain can strike the walls. 

627. Q. Are king crabs good manure? King Crab 
A. Excellent; tens of thousands of bushels are used by farmers on the^**""*"®' 

South Atlantic waters. Their value, however, is only for one crop, as 
their fertilizing influence is very volatile. 

628. Q. What is the difference between germination and vegetation ? Germination. 
A. Germination is the putting forth of a germ or sprout and the sus- 
taining of it till the j'oung plant makes connection with the ground ; 

there germination ends and vegetation commences. 

629. Q. Has moonlight any influence upon garden vegetables ? Moonlight. 
A. No. Some plants of a very sensitive nature, as the Sensitive plant, 

awaken under moonlight, but no practical result has ever been noted. 

630. Q. Is there nr.uch diversity between vegetable garden products in European 
Europe and the United States ? Vegetables. 

A. Quite marked. In Europe the gardeners grow lots of things little 
cultivated here. For example, artichoke, cardoon, corn salad, chickory, 
cress, dandelion, swiss chard, scorzonera, sea kale, sorrel. 

631. Q. What size cold frame must I have to hold twelve thousand Cold Frame, 
cabbage plants over Winter? 

A. A frame made of boards sixteen feet long, and placed parallel at six 
feet distant, the ends being closed, will hold three thousand cabbage 
plants. 

632. Q. Why do garden vegetables degenerate ? Degenera- 
A. Because of careless selection. Esculents propagated from seed can *'"'*• 

be brought up to their previously highest quality if time be taken. They 
do not run out in the same manner as do some tree fruits propagated by 
grafts or buds, or the potato as propagated from the tubers, the eyes of 
which are really buds. 

633. Q. Do plants perspire? Perspiration 
A. They do to a very large extent. It has been proven that a Sunflower of Plants. 

plant six feet high perspired in a day ten times as much as man. 

634. Q. Why do some professional gardeners always want to buy old Cucumber 
seeds of cucumber, melon and squash ? Seed. 

A. Running plants from old seeds do not grow so vigorously as from 
new seeds. They are shorter jointed, while producing as many blossoms 
as long-jointed vines. They are also earlier in maturing and, being com- 
pact in growth, a greater number of hills can be planted to the acre. 

635. What influence has the qualities of parents upon the progeny of influence 
cross-bred plants ? of Parents. 



104 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Peas. 



Green Moss. 



Extra Early 
Tea. 



Table Com. 



Watering 
I'lants. 



Plant Dls- 
crluiiuatiun. 



Potato Bug. 



Sorghum. 



Licorice. 



Hotbeds. 



A It is theorized tliat the male gives quality to the interior organism, 
the female to the external. 

63C. Q. At what stage of development sliould table peas be picked 
from the vine to obtain them in the most palatable condition ? 

A. "When about two-thirds developed, as then they are tender, luscious 
and altogether superior to qualities possessed wiien full grown. 

637. Q. How can I get rid of the green moss which grows in my lawn, 
especially in shady places? 

A. Try three plans : top dress with salt, top dress with lime, spray the 
moss with Bordeaux mixture. 

638. Q. What is the dividing line on Extra Early pea and a later class? 
A. An Extra Early pea should arrive at picking condition at forty two 

to forty six days from germination. Any sort, whatever the name, later 
than that is not an Extra Early. 

639. Q. IIow should corn be eaten? 

A. Score the rows with a knife from end to end of the cob, and with a 
fork scrape down and ofl" the edible portion, getting nothing but the soft 
interior, the shells of the grains being left behind. 

640. Q. Is watering garden vegetables in dry weather beneficial? 

A. Sometimes, but often harmful. It is best done at niglit. If done 
during the day it excites the roots to action, the plants pumping up water 
and the leaves exhaling it to the dry atmosphere. 

When the supply of water stops the roots and leaves are left in a state 
of collapse, sometimes worse than before. 

641. Q. How is it that plants requiring distinct foods and producing 
widely different fruits or juices live upon the same soil ? 

A. Partly because plants possess a power of food selection. The wheat 
plant for instance will absorb silex, and the pea growing alongside of it 
will not absorb any. 

642. Q, The leaves from the stems of my potato crop have been all 
eaten off by the potato bug, but the tubeis appear to be full size. Would 
the tubers have been larger if the leaves had not been destroyed ? 

A. Certainly ; larger and more perfectly finished in deveh)pment. Any 
condition unnatural is always a check to perfect growth and full maturity. 

643. Q. Wliich are the best varieties of sorghum for sugar making? 
A. The Collier, Coleman, McLean and Folger, The last named is the 

earliest maturing variety and the best all round in sugar-making quali- 
ties. The Collier is the hardiest and best for Northern latitudes. 

644. Q. Can I grow licorice root in Georgia? 

A. Yes ; on low lands it will grow freely. The dried roots in bales are 
worth $40 a ton. The annual consumption in the United States is 3r),000,- 
000 pounds of the extract, largely used in confectionery and in tobacco. 

645. Q. Should the soil used in hotbeds be changed frequently? 

A. Yes ; every year get new soil from a field known to be free from 
any disease. The old soil may be infested with parasites which may re- 
main alive for many months, even though the earth may be frozen 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 105 

hard as iron during Winter. In the open garden old seed beds are often 
nurseries of disease. 

646. Q. In growing onions here in Florida for the Northern market I Onions, 
have found difficulty in the fact they sometimes grow so large before the 
tops die down that they are not readily salable. Is there any way that I 
can cause the tops to die off when they are at tlie most desirable size 1 

A. Two courses are open to the experimenter : one to cut under the 
roots with a flat hoe or wide, flat plowshare, to arrest too great vitality ; 
ihe other to break down the tops, pressing them flat with the hand or 
with some instrument wrapped in cloth or bagging, so as to be soft. 

C47. Q. What is a parasitic plant ? Parasitic 

A. An order of plant which strikes roots into the substance of other *'^*°*«- 
plants and feeds on their juices. Molds and blights are examples of lowest 
organization of vegetable parasites. The mistletoe is of a higher order, 
forming large bunches often several feet in diameter. 

648. Q. What is the cause of hollow stem in celery ? Celery. 

A. A bad stock. Years ago, before the selection of quality was so in- 
tense as now, a considerable percentage of every patch was always hol- 
low, but now seldom 3 per cent, in the good varieties is found hollow. 

But some Italian celeries are entirely hollow. 

649. Q. Which is the best method for a market gardener to follow: Sell- seiUng 
ing his products through a commission merchant or direct sales to con- Vegetables, 
sumers ? 

A. If he is a large operator it would be impossible for him to sell to the 
consumers. A small operator can of course get better prices by taking to 
himself the profits of the middle men, 

650. Q. What are cryptogamic germs ? ^ * . 

A rp, , . ° Cryptogamic 

A. llie reproductive organs of flowerless plants. Some such plants Germs, 
become trees, but those injurious to cultivated garden vegetables are 
always microscopic in size and are known as garden fungi. They have 
neither leaves nor stems, their reproductive organs are situated in a mass 
of cellular substance. 

651. Q. What sorts of vegetables best resist drought ? Drought 
A. Drought-sustaining vegetables might be divided into two classes : 

first, those which develop deep roots, as carrots and parsnips, which are 
able to draw moisture from considerable depth, and secondly, those of 
thick, succulent leaves. An example of how thick-leaved plants can 
sustam drought while only surface-rooted is seen in the ordinary house 
leek and in common sand cactus. 

652. Q. Will a crop of potatoes take more fertility out of a field than a Soil 

crop of tomatoes ? Exhaustion. 

A. Yes ; potatoes may average 200 bushels to the acre of solid starchy 
tubers, while the tomatoes, if they do average 400 bushels, are 9.5 per 
cent, water. 

653. Q. How long will fungus germs remain in the soil after a dis- Fungus 
eased crop has been removed V Germa. 



106 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Fungi. 



Cabbage. 



Sunbura. 



Beet. 



Onion. 



Web Worna. 



French 
Articlioke. 



A. After the crop is removed the fungus germs nearly always find 
weeds and plants of some other kind on the same land to feed upon, to 
perpetuate their species over the balance of the growing season, and 
through most Winters the germs will lie dormant, ready to attach them- 
selves to some plant the next Spring. 

654. Q. What are fungi? 

A. A very low order of vegetation, a flowerless order, illustrated in 
our vegetable gardens by the mushroom and propagated by minute, 
spreading fronds. 

655. Q. If after I have set out my cabbage plants and they have rooted 
and commenced to grow, there comes a spell of cold weather which, 
although not enough to wilt the leaves, checks the growth for a period of 
several days, what would probably be the efiect on their heading? 

A. The check of transplanting young cabbage plants from the seed 
bed to the field seems to induce an inclination to form heads, but after the 
transplanted cabbages are well established any subsequent check from 
frost or severe drought seems to induce a disposition to go to seed. That 
inclination once established, the plants commence to show all sorts of vari- 
ability of shape and character, sometimes not over half of the crop mak- 
ing good heads. 

656. Q. Can I use any preventive against sunburn of my water- 
melons? 

A. When the vines are about half grown broadcast buckwheat, which 
by time the melons are ripe will protect them partially from the sun. 

657. Q. Where did the beet originate, or from whence did the first beet 
come? 

A. It is a native of sandy seacoasts of the Mediterranean, Black and 
Caspian seas. 

658. Q. Is the origin of the onion known ? 

A. It is not ; but it certainly is one of the earliest of cultivated plants — 
well known to the Egyptians. 

659. Q. What shall I do to drive off an insect which is destroying my 
beets and mangels by eating the leaves and spinning a web on llie lop of 
the wreck ? 

A. The description would mark it as one of the web-worms, of which 
there are several. They do not confine themselves to beets, but will take 
anything in the way of garden truck. To kill them, spray with a solu- 
tion of Paris green, one pound of the poison to 150 gallons of water, and 
three gallons of molasses to make it stick to the leaves. 

6(i0. Q. Wliy is not the artichoke cultivated as geuerally in the United 
States as in France '! 

A. Because our Winters are too severe, except in the cotton States, and 
because we are accustomed to better food. The artichoke is really of so 
little merit that it is not received with favor by Americans, even in local- 
ities where it can be successfully grown. The artichoke plant is a form 
of cardoon, which latter plant is cultivated for its bleached foot stalks 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 107 

and midribB The cardoon dof-8 not produrxi edible heads, it being bred 
for its edible leaves, the artichoke for its edible flowers. 

CM. q. There is a demand in my market for a Box radish of a deep red BadUjh. 
(^A»r. Is there such a radish, with a short top and of quick growth, which 
I can use for the punxjse? I want them to bunch with my White Box 
radish, and they must be of similar shape. 

^ A. Landreths' Earliest is the one to use. It unites two marked quali- 
ties : First, an earliness in maturity for table, surpassing any oth^-r red 
sort; secondly, a rich depth of claret or ruby color, unapproached by any 
other vanety. In form it is turnip-shaped, in size and form similar to the 
Karly Scarlet. The leaves, very short and small, fit it for forcing in glass 
house or frame, while its early maturity will astonish the cultivator. 

(iC,2. Q. Can I improve my tomatoes by pruning the vines? If so, at Praning 
what stage of growth should the pruning be done? Tomatoes. 

A. Pruning must be done with judgment, else the blooms will be cut 
off in too large numbers. Pruning, when well done, is advantageous as 
It lets air and light into the vines, which otherwise might become a tangle 
in which no fruit could ripen. 

603. Q. Is marl of much value as a fertilizer ? jvi^^j 
A. That depends on the kind of marl. The best marl is Jersey green " 

sand marl, by the u«e of which large districts in Jersey have been raised 
from poverty to affluence. On lands which fifty years ago not over 
twenty bushels of cr.rn could be produced, the average crops now are 
fifty bushels. All kinds of shell fish deposits are called marl, but there 
is a great difference in value of various deposits. 

604. Q What is the manurial effect of large turnips plowed under, TurnipH 
bulbs and leaves all turned down out of sight ? as Manure. 

A Very valuable; and a very quick and a very cheap means of enriching 
a field. The seed sown broadcast in August will develop a big crop by 
Ist November, ready for plowing down before the land is frozen It is 
a system which should be largely practiced, as it is an efficient way 
of manuring the land and done at a season when there is little to do on a 
farm. 

665 Q. What particular merit is there in a strap-ieaf turnip? What strap leaf 
does strap-leaf mean as applied to turnip ? Ta^i 

A. It means a leaf without indentures-a straight leaf like a rabbit's "^ ^ 
ear. There is no special merit in it-it simply indicates that the stock is 
a pedigree one. If it was not watched and culled it would soon cease to 
be a strap leaf— would beajme a cut-leaf. 

600. Q Are the seeds of garden vegetables, when in eating condition, MatuHty of 
sufficiently matured for sowing ? SetdT 

A. Thtjse of watermelons, cantaloupes, pumpkins ; hardly of any- 
thing else. ^ 

607. Q. What is the best pea to plant for a late crop, say in August' Pea. 
1 have tried several sorts, but they always mildew. 
A. Landreths' Extra Eariy is best, as it is the least subject to mildew 



108 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Sugar Cane. 



Clover. 



Tomatoes. 



Fertilizers. 



Koinit. 



at the season indicated, -when nearly all other peas become so covered 
witli the mildew as to be of little value. 

CG8. Q. From what country did the original sugar cane come? 

A. From Southern Asia, India, Cochin China, and Malaysia, whence 
it spread into Africa, and thence to America, reaching St. Domingo in 
1520 and shortly afterwards Mexico and Brazil. 

6G9. Q. Where did the Crimson clover originally come from ? 

A. It is found wild in Northern Italy, iu Sardinia, and in Algiers, in 
the valley of the Danube and in Macedonia. 

G70. Q. I have very poor success in growing tomatoes in my garden. 
The soil is good and rich, and I can grow very large plants, but they do 
not bear much fruit, and it is generally small and knotty, no matter what 
variety I plant. Can you explain the cause and remedy ? 

A. Possibly the plants go too much to leaf. Try pruning the roots by 
digging about them deeply; this will reduce the vigor of growth and per- 
haps cause blossoms to appear and set. Also trim the foliage to let iu the 
light and air. 

671. Q. How many brands of commercial fertilizers are there? 
A. Probably 600 or 700 distinctly named sorts, all dilTeriug from each 

other in the proportion of contents of available plant food, some brands 
worth ten times the value of others, some not worth five dollars a ton. 

672. Q. Is kainit more valuable than common salt? 
A. Yes ; because it contains from 15 to 20 per cent, of potash, while 

common salt does not contain anj'. Potash is a fertilizer or plant food — 
salt is not a food, only an alterative and insect driver. The kainit con- 
tains 60 to 70 per cent, of common salt in addition to the potash. 

673. Q. Of what country is the sweet potato a native ? 
A. Not known positively, but presumed of Mexico or the "West Indies, 

as it was cultivated in San Domingo in 1526. It differs from the white 
potato in its tubers being roots, while in the white potato the tubers are 
branches. 

674. Q. Where did tlie garden pea originate? 
A. Probably in Asia, from the Caucasus to Persia. It has been 

found among the remains of the lake-dwellers of the bronze age in Switz- 
erland. 

675. Q. Which is the most nutritious for milch cows, green sugar corn 
or green sorghum? 

A. Sorghum by all odds, as it contains from 8 to 12 per cent, of stigar. 
Winter Oats. 670. Q. Can I successfully grow Virginia Winter oats in Pennsylvania? 

A. Yes, if it be treated as a Spring oat, as the Winters are too severe 
in Pennsylvania to admit it to live as in Virginia. Sown in early Spring 
it will ripen three weeks later than ordinary Spring oats. It will be found 
far more productive than Spring oats and far heavier to the bushel, fre- 
quentlj'- going up to thirty-eight and forty pounds. As long back as 1869 it 
was grown as a Spring crop on Bloomsdale Farm, giving seventy bushels 
to the acre. 



Sweet 
Potato 



Pea. 



Cow Feed. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 109 

677. Q. Why is it that two tomato patches, both grown from the same Tomatoes, 
seed, develop fruit so distinct? 

A. Frequently the case when the periods of sowing the seed or setting 
out the plants have been wide apart ; the conditions of growth being 
very different, to say nothing of a possible difference in soil. 

678. Q. How many days does it take from germination for a good type Sorghom. 
of sorghum to reach as high as 11 per cent, of sugar? 

A. About 140 days, and about 145 days to reach 70 per cent, of purity. 

679. Q. Is there any difference in period of maturity in a crop of corn, Com. 
one-third part of each grown respectively from grains taken from the 
butt, middle and end of ear? 

A. No, not the first year ; but the practice continued would result in a 
marked variability in forms of grains and value. 

680. Q. Comparing the two systems of agricultural operations — that of Market 
ordinary farming, as the raising of grain, potatoes, hay, cattle and dairy- ^'*''**®""*S« 
ing, with truck farming, as in the raising of vegetables for market — which 

affords the greatest possibilities of profit, and which opens to the highly 
educated operator the widest field for action and intelligent, if not scien- 
tific application ? 

A. The laborious efforts of the farmer producing wheat and other small 
grains, corn, potatoes, hay and dairy products, cannot be exceeded by 
the labors of any soil cultivator, but the mental details of such labors are 
insignificant compared with the operations of truck farming on a large area, 
as on the large vegetable farms near some of our large cities. On such 
farms the ceaseless round of Spring, Midsummer and Winter crops of vege- 
tables from the fields, and others from cold frames, hotbeds and hot-houses ; 
the packing, shipping, correspondence; thedetailsof appropriate fertilizers 
and special mechanical appliances ; a large pay roll to be provided for every 
Saturday night, necessitates great responsibilities and demands technical 
and business qualifications such as are not looked for in the ordinary 
farmer. The operations of the two are so wide apart as not to be considered 
the same moment. One is humdrum, the other unceasing activity and de- 
manding, if success is to be attained, qualities not required in a grain farmer, 
though his wheat fields may be ten times as big as the vegetable farm. 
No man wishing to turn to an agricultural pursuit is too intelligent or too 
scientific to adopt that of vegetable farming ; for it is the most intense, t])e 
most interesting, the most technical, the most paying of all soil cultural 
operations. It is also the most uncertain, but this adds to the possibilities 
of profit as well as loss. 

681. Q. In what part of the world was the garden bean first cultivated ? Bean. 
A. In Western Asia. It was cultivated at Rome nearly two thousand 

years ago. It appears to have existed also in South America long before 
the Western Continent was known. 

683. Q. Whence came the first cucumbers ? Cucamber. 

A. Nut positively known, but thought to be from Cabal, in Northwest 
India. It has been cultivated in India for three thousand years. 



no 



QUERIES AXD ANSWERS. 



Cantaloupes. 

Lettuce. 

Spinach. 

Watermelon, 
Turnip. 



Cabbage 
Worm. 



lAma, Beans. 



Puddling. 



Liquid 
Manure. 



Weeds. 



683. Q. Cantaloupes, where did tliey originally come from? 

A. It is believed they first came from Africa, but possibly they were 
natives of Asia as well. The Romans cultivated the cantaloupe and illus- 
trated it in pictures now existing. The writer has obtained some very 
ciioice new sorts through the missionaries of Armenia. 

684. Q. Where did lettuce originally come from ? 

A. The wild form still grows in the Canary Islands, Madeira, Algeria, 
and in Asia. The ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated it. 

685. Q. Where did spinach originate? 

A. It was first cultivated in Western Asia. The seed originally was all 
pricklj^ the smooth seeded being a perpetuation of a sport. 
68G. Q. What is the native country of the watermelon ? 
A. Central Africa. Livingstone saw large districts covered with it. 

687. Q. My Spring-sown turnips are string}^ What is the cause ? I use 
the Red Top Globe. Is there any better sort for Spring sowing? 

A. Yes ; Early Flat Dutch, but it must be used when small, not bigger 
than a 50 cent piece, otherwise it is certain to get tough, fibrous and hot. 

688. Q. Will hot water kill the cabbage caterpillars without injuring 
the plants? 

A. Hot water above 160° will scald the plants, but below that will not 
hurt them. At any temperature below 160° and above 140^ the worms 
will be destroyed. It is an efficient remedy for use in small patches. 

689. Q. I have experienced great difficulty in getting a stand of Lima 
beans, particularly in cold, wet seasons. Can I overcome this difficulty 
by soaking the beans in lard or any other moisture -resisting solution ? 

A. You probably plant too early. The Lima will not sprout in cold, 
wet soil, as it requires very favorable conditions as respects moderate 
moisture and warmed earth. Later plantings, when the soil is in favor- 
able condition, will overtake early plantings and the vines be more 
healthy. If you must be early, start them under glass or in the house, 
and transplant when four inches high. 

630. Q. When transplanting cabbage and tomatoes is it necessary to 
puddle the roots ? 

A. Not desirable unless they are to be shipped some distance. If to be 
planted at home, puddling is a mistake, as the mud cements around the 
roots and arrests their free action in the soil. Transplant only just before 
a rain or just after, and tightly fasten the plant in the soil. 

691 Q. Do you advise liquid manure for application to garden vege- 
tables? 

A. Yes ; applied between the plants, not on top of them, or it might 
scald. Only apply in the evening, as water excites the plants to action — 
the roots to absorbing and pumping up and the leaves to evaporation. 
This during the middle of a hot day is injurious, but at night is beneficial. 

693. Q. How can I keep my paths free of grass and weeds? 

A, Lime and salt will hold them in check, but not prevent them 
entirely. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. Ill 

693. Q. Will burning straw on the surface of my garden kill weed Weed Seeds. 
seeds and insects? 

A. Only partially ; as no heat which a surface-burning Avould make 
would heat the soil over two inches iu depth. A deep plowing or digging 
will bring to the surface seeds and insects not injured by the heat. 

694. Q. When should I manure my lawn? i.awn 
A. Better spread stable manure in January, twenty-five cartloads to the ^'^nure. 

acre, and rake off the remnant in March. Or, in February or March, 
broadcast to the acre 890 to 1000 pounds of superphosphate of lime and 
200 to 300 pounds of nitrate of soda. 

695. Q. What are the cheapest and quickest green crops I can grow in Green Crops. 
Delaware after September 1, to remain on the ground all Winter as a 

covering and to be plowed down in March ? 

A. Rye. living all Winter and forming a mat of roots and strong top 
growth. Indian corn, making a strong top growth by frost and then 
drying up — a good covering to the soil, preventing blowing. In Dela- 
ware, September 1 is too late to sow Scarlet clover to do any good by 
March, and late also for Cow peas which, when left to dry on the field, 
are very hard to plow under in Spring on account of the vines being like 
so many wires. 

696. Q. Will it pay financially to suspend an electric light over a vege- Electric 
table forcing house to hasten the development of market vegetables? iJgiit- 

A. Not in all cases ; for while some plants are benefited, others are 
retarded. The vegetable most advanced by electric light is lettuce, 
which, it is estimated, is forced ahead quite a week by the use of electric 
light. 

697. Q. Why do people in hot Southern climates, as the West and East Pungent 
Indies, Mexico and Brazil, consume so many hot vegetables, as peppers. Vegetables. 
leeks, and Spanish radishes? 

A. As tonics to the system. In such countries the liver becomes torpid, 
the stomach weak, and foods flavored with peppers and other burcing 
ingredients tone up the system to resist the evil effect of the climate. 

698. Q. How is the percentage of sugar in vegetables influenced by Sugar in 
locations of latitude ? Vegetables. 

A. All vegetable garden products, as peas, beans, corn, parsnip, carrot, 
beets and melons, become more palatable as their cultivation approaches 
more nearly the northern limit of their successful growing. This may be 
attributed to the longer daylight in Summer of JSTorthern latitudes. Good 
form and rich color do not always accompany palatability ; quite the con- 
trary, as some of the most exquisitely flavored apples and melons of 
Nova Scotia do not compare in appearance with those produced in local- 
ities much further South. The use of the electric light at night in gar- 
dens will some day, no doubt, become quite general where facilities for 
its use exist, as by its use can be obtained all the advantages, and more, 
afforded by the long twilight of a more Northern latitude. 

G99. Q. Adjoining me is a twenty-acre field which has been out of use Soil Recu- 
peration. 



112 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Soil FertiUty 
and Farm 
Practice. 



Coffee. 



Systems 
of Heating. 



Wire Grass. 



for five years — abandoned because of being poor soil. Is it likely to have 
improved by the rest during that period ? 

A. Most decidedly ; especially if in clover or grass, particularly clover; 
but even an annual crop of weeds, not removed for five successive sea- 
sons, protecting the surface for five successive Winters, will have done it 
much good, the weeds collecting, but to a far less degree than clover, fer- 
tilizing constituents from the air, the deep-rooted ones drawing more from 
the soil below plow depth and their covering of the surface in a green 
form in Summer and dry, dead form in Winter promoting the accumula- 
tion of plant foods, especially potash. 

700. Q. Which are the most fertile, the farm lands of the United States 
or those of England ? 

A. The soils of this country, being newer, are naturally more fully 
charged with natural plant food, but here they are not cultivated under 
the intelligent and intense S3'8tems and processes of the English and 
Scotch, where the farmers are more thoroughly grounded in the princi- 
ples of agriculture. This agricultural intelligence and the moister cli- 
mate of England result in the growth of larger crops of potatoes, oats, 
wheat, barley, flax, and cattle roots. American farmers, while more 
intelligent upon the whole range of general subjects, more self-reliant 
and better able to meet unexpected difficulties, are, as a rule, only 
veneered with agricultural information. Just the same as the Ameri- 
can people are veneered with scientific and literary information, or 
as our politicians are with statecraft, compared with the more thor- 
oughly educated men of Europe. Educated farmers, that is, men hav- 
ing a fully practical and pa-tly a scientific knowledge of agriculture 
and all its processes, are able, on comparatively worked-out soils, to 
reap a better return than the happy-go-lucky farmers of portions of our 
own country, even be they located on soil of virgin fertility. Farmers 
satisfied to drag day after day over the miserable public roads of this 
country, do not show much of those qualities possessed by the farmers of 
England ; and their willingness to rest satisfied with the road conditions 
illustrates the condition of their farms and their systems of culture. 

701. Q. Can a good substitute for coffee be made from dandelion root? 
A. Quite a good imitation ; but better from chickory, and in greater 

quantity, as chickory produces a larger root. It is grown like carrots, 
plowed out after frost, washed, sliced and dried. By some preferred to 
coffee ; is an excellent adulterant. 

702. Q. Which is the best system of heating forcing houses ? 

A. This is a question which has been under discussion for years, and 
probably will continue to be discussed for a long time. The arguments 
are so conclusive as put forth by the partisans of each system, that when 
listening to the advocates of one system no room seems to be left to doubt 
till the opposite side is heard. The writer, personally, favors hot water, 

703. Q. My grass plot is completely taken possession of by wire grass. 
Whatshallldo? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 113 

A. Only one course is practical, and that is to dig up and remove the 
roots and soil going to a depth of twelve inches Fill in the excavations 
with new earth free from wire grass. 

nr!!r ^'r'^'f ^^^ "^^^hods of agriculture advancing as rapidly as the Methods of 
practice of other arts and professions ? Agriculture. 

A. No art is so favored. No art has so many newspapers published 
exclusively m ,ts interests. Nearly every State of the Union has estab- 
lished agricultural experimental stations. Every scientific naturalist is 
working in the interest of agriculture. Thus there is being developed a 
heory of agriculture ; but theory and the results of practice do not always 
harmonize as no control can be exercised over the degrees of rainfall, 
cold or heat al of which have so direct an influence over the growth of 
plants, and httle can be done to prevent the appearance of fungi and 
nsect enemies ; only palliative remedies when they do appear. A^ricul- 

ll-n .'"m' ^1 ""'^ "''"''''' '"* ''''^ ^'«°« ^"1 °°^ °^ake a crop, as 
a ship-building designer plans an ocean racer. 

705. Q. Why do cabbage heads sometimes burst open or split ? Cabbage 

A. ^ecauseof an excess of moisture pumped up by the roots and so «•*"""»• 

dist nding the tissues of the interior leaves as to burst the exterior ones 

Cabbages while in a healthy, growing condition never burst, but only 

under the influences of a second growth. 

T 2^' % ^^^ '^'^''° '''°''' "'^'^ half.grown. are dying at the root. Can Fungus 
I do anything to save them ? v^aurungus. 

A The trouble may be from sunburn or from underground grubs but 
most probably it arises from a fungous attack destructive to the bark of 
stem and roots. If this be so the bark is brown and slufling ofi" Noth- 

wTg':d effe^:. '"'"^^'^ '"''' ''' '''''''• ^-« -^ -'p^-^ "-^ 

and can it be used to the exclusion of other fertilizers ? Soda. 

A Nitrate of soda is valuable for its nitrogen, which is an active stim- 
Itfp ff.P^^'"^'^;^^"^^l« to leaf-producing plants. It is not a com- 
plete fertilizer as plants want potash and phosphoric acid also. Most soils 
contain enough lime. 

J'LIJ'''"'. 'I '^' ^''' receptacle I can use to exclude moisture from Keeping 
my garden seeds ? Seeds 

astn p'rLX]!'' """ '^'^ " ''''' ''" "^'^ ^'^ '»"'* '' '''''''' 

A. The Russian is twice as productive. 2500 pounds of seed have been 

ZS^ TT, ^''! """''''^ ^'"'^'"^'^^ '^"^ "'^^ «<^^«^ t° the stalk. 
The seed is valuable as food for poultry, hogs and cattle, and for making 

710 Q. When spraying my melon vines to kill the louse can I raise up Melon 
the vines so as to expose the under surface to the spray ? ^ iouse 



114 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Plant 
Growth 



Vegetable 
Sweetness 



Okra. 



Kprg Plant 
l''uugiis. 



A. Yes, you can do it ; but the disturbance to the vines would do as 
much harm as the insects. MeK^n vines, when over lialf-grovvn, are seri- 
ously injured by lifting. It is just here that the dilliculty of spraying 
melons in the field comes in— it can seldom be done clliciently. 

711. Q. At wliat period of the twenty-four hours do plants grow with 
the greatest rapidity? 

A. Most, but not all, grow fastest at night, as can be readily observed 
by marking the relative day and night growth of tiie runners of water- 
melon, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin; sometimes these will extend fifteen 
inches between sunset and sunrise, while not lengthening over three 
inches during the day. 

712. Q. Is there any difference in the degree of sweetness of water- 
melons grown in dillerent latitudes? 

A. Yes ; all fruits, apples, pears, peaches, as they approach their 
northern limits of possible production, develop a degree of sweetness not 
possessed by others grown more southward. The watermelons of the 
Southern Slates are never as sweet as those grown in New Jersey. 

713. Q. Among Okras which sort is the best? 
A. Long Green Pod in every respect, and in fact no other sort is worth 

cultivating if this one can be had. 

714. Q. Something is the matter with my egg plant bushes, they are all 
sickly and yellow and promise failure. Can I do anything to keep them ? 

A. There is not much chance of a good crop from the egg plant if the 
bushes once lose their vigor ; indeed they should never be stunted or ad- 
verted in growth. If they are brown or black on the bark of the stems 
near the earth they are suffering from a fungous growth living upon the 
tissues of the bark, and nothing will stop it with certainty ; and even then 
a most serious injury will remain if the bark of the stalks has been half 
destroyed. Spray the stalks near the ground with Bordeaux mixture. 
Next year give your egg plant land nitrate of soda at the rate of 400 
pounds to the acre; it may destroy the fungus and will give the plants in- 
creased vigor to resist the disease besides giving a better color to the fruit. 

715. Q. Will a Lima bean, if planted with the eye upward sprout earlier 
tlian if planted with the eye downward? 

A. They do best planted eyes down and not over one inch deep. 
Mushrooms. 716. Q. Will you please give me the most simple and inexpensive 
method for cultivating mushrooms from the spawn? 

A. There is no simple and easy method of doing it for the novice to 
follow. It is work which only an experienced hand can do with good 
chance of success. The work is rough enougli in the handling and incorpo- 
ration of horse manure and good soil, but to do it well one must have 
had lessons from an expert. In no garden process is there such contra- 
dictory practice as in mushroom culture. For instance, one successful 
grower will gather dry droppings from horses, and still further dry them 
by spreading and frequent turning under cover. Another, equally suc- 
cessful as a grower, dispenses with all this trouble, taking stable dung 



Lima nean. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 115 

fresh from the stalls, and mixing in a fourth part of good friable loam, 
piling it up for a week, then turning it over, and, it fermenting too 
strongly, adding more loam. 

A third grower takes his manure from an ordinary barnyard pile, and 
mixes in a fourth part of loam. Other growers will not use manure 
which has been fermenting, claiming that it will not produce mushrooms 
or a continuous crop. Another system is to take any good stable manure, 
and, removing slicks, stones, very long straw, or other coarse material, 
thoroughly mix and pile it in beds two feet high, thoroughly wet with 
water and stamp down. After a week or ten days, by which time it is 
quite hot, the pile is reworked and left for another ten days, then it is in 
condition to be made into beds of the proper form and seeded. Some- 
times four to six weeks are taken in the preparation of the manure, a 
leading object with most cultivators being to have it half decomposed, 
completely mixed, but not wet. 

Possibly the best system for the amateur to pursue is to prepare his 
manure pile under cover, as in a shed or cellar, making his pile one-fourth 
loam and tliree-fourths of the best stable manure he can get, horse dung 
predominating, which should be piled first, to allow it to lose its fiercest 
heat, the loam helping to solidify the mixture. At spawning time the 
heat in the beds should range from 60° to 80°, never above 85^. The 
heat of a bed may be reduced by opening holes with a crowbar, forcing 
it down to the very bottom. One bushel of spawn broken into lumps of 
an inch in size is sufficient for 100 square feet of bed surface. The beds 
can be made on the floors of cellars, sheds, or under the benches of a 
greenhouse, or on raised benches like shelves in a closet. 

717. Q. Why is the Lima bean so called? ijlmaBean. 
A. It is supposed to have been first found at Lima. Certainly as a 

noveltj'^ it was introduced as from there. It may have been a native of 
Peru or an original production in its present form, or it may have been 
developed from some other bean as a consequence of some peculiar condi- 
tion of climate in Peru. At the present day both white, black and spotted 
Limas are cultivated in that country. 

718. Q. What was the color of the first variety of tomato cultivated ? First 

A. It was red, and was first cultivated in Europe in 1596. The first ''f<»*"**<»' 
catalogue reference to the yellow tomato was by Landreth, in 1820. The 
yellow sorts are generally of the best flavor. 

719. Q. Do some plant bugs eat up other plant bugs? insectivorous 
A. Yes ; the lice on cucumber vines and on melons are eaten up in Bugs. 

large numbers by a species of lady bug, and some species of flies eat the 
larviE of the asparagus beetle. There are many insects which feed on 
eacli other. 

720. Q. Is it true that the sugar corn grown in the State of Maine is Sugar Corn. 
sweeter than the same variety of corn grown in Virginia? 

A. Undoubtedly; and a consequence of the long days of July and 
August. In Maine, the evening twilight lasts till 9 and 10 o'clock, and 



116 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Radish. 



EfToct of 
Sulectluu. 



Cablxigo 
Lieu. 



Hoariiig of 
luHecls. 



KI.«otrlc 
Light. 



Hybridizii- 
tlou. 



Sieht of 
lusects. 



AHphvxiittioii 
uf liittectH. 



Grain 

IU8UCt8. 



the morning twilight begins a little after 2 o'clock. la fuct it is only dark 
for four or Ave hours Tliis resultain the development of a degree of sugar 
far greater than possessed by any corn which can be grown in Virginia. 

721. Q. Which is Die best Long White radish? 

A. Lady-finger is three to four inches long, pure while, very brittle 
and early of maturity. 

722. Q. Does careful selection over many years successively weaken 
the seeding qualities of vegetables? 

A. Yes ; all highclass vegetables, like animals, being by intense selec- 
tion weakened in perpetuative powers. 

7213. Q. Is a field alllicted with cabbage lice upon a crop likely to be 
affected with lice the next year? 

A. Yes, unless the Winter is severe, in which case not an insect may 
appear the succeeding Summer. If then tiiey appear tliey can be kept in 
partial clieek by kerosene emulsion, the previous season demonstrating 
the necessity of being prepared to fight them immediately upon their first 
appearance. 

724. Q. Do garden insects hear? 

A. Yes, to a slight extent. Tlie sound-producing insects all make 
their noises by abdominal joints, never through their moutlis. 

725. Q. Wliat is the ellect of electric light on growing phinis? 

A. Electric light seems to take to a degree the place of solar light, the 
plants continuing to decompose carbonic acid, to extract oxygen, and to 
perspire. A plant's health depends very much upon the quantity of car- 
bonic acid decomposed ; consequently the electric light is valuable as ex- 
tending, as it were, the hours of daylight. 

72(5. Q. Will cabbage and turnip plants, blooming alongside of each 
other, hybridize ? 

A. Tliere is little danger of hybridization occurring under natural con- 
ditions, even if a field of cabbage and one of turnips be immediately ad- 
jacent, but a hybridization will occur if an intense effort be made to 
effect it. 

727. Q. Is the sight of insects well developed 1 

A. No ; very imperfectly. They are to a large extent guided in their 
movements by sense organs with Avliich man has none to compare. 

728. Q. Is there any gas which I can use to kill bugs on my garden 
plants? 

A. You can use the vapor of bisulphide of carbon, provided you can 
procure air-tight vessels of paper, tin, or glass to completely cover the 
plants. Under these coverings, placed over the plants, introduce one 
tablespoonful of the liquid, which will evaporate and asphyxiate all in- 
sects within an hour. Tlie breathing apparatus of insects pervades the 
whole body, and poisonous vapors penetrate simultaneously the entire 
system. Don't inhale the vapor, as it is a rank poison. 

729. Q. What is the best course to adopt to kill insects in dry wheat, 
corn, or other grain or seed ? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 117 

A. Treatment with fames of blsulpliide of carbon. The grain, how- 
ever, if to be used for milling, must bo thoroughly aired, otlicrwise an 
offensive odor will remain. The work iiuisl be done in an air-tight room 
of a size corresponding to the amount of the seed to bo treated. Four 
quarts of bisulphide is sufficient to treat four hundred busliels of grain at 
one application. The exposure to the fumes should be from ten to twenty 
liours. No fire should, in any case, be allowed near the room in which 
the treatment takes place, as the vapor is highly explosive. 

7.m Q. How long should I wait for seed to sprout before condemning Unvitai 
the seed as unvitai ? Seed. 

A. That depends on the age of the seed, the kind of seed, tlie time of 
Bowing, the condition of the soil when sown, and the subsequent condi- 
tions of atmosphere, and how shallow or how deeply put in. Any one of 
these conditions being very unfavorable might prevent germination of 
perfectly vital seed. Some people are entirely too quick to jump at a 
conclusion that because seed don't come up that it is unvitai. Thoy 
know too much, based on a very small experience. 

731. Q. Why do I have bo much trouble in securing a good stand ofParHiiipH. 
parsnips ? 

A. The seed ia always very light and slow to germinate, even under 
the most favorable conditions. When the soil is dry, and still worse, 
baked by the sun, the seed is especially slow to sprout ; but, left alone it 
wdl generally come in time. Many crops are given up by the planters 
entirely too soon— they siiould have patience. 

73J. Q. Why are New Jersey cantaloupes sweeter than those grown Jersey 
farther South ? Cantaloupes. 

A. A section two hundred or three hundred miles farther north of a 
more southern section enjoys a longer daylight and twilight during .July 
and August, just as in extreme Northern regions, approaching tiie North 
pole, the sun does not set, but shines continuously the twenty-four liours 
This condition of extended daylight is favorable to the development of 
sugar. Visitors to Canada in August never fail to ijraise the Montreal 
melons for their delicious flavor. The seed, taken from the melons and 
planted in a more southern locality, will not produce melons equ.il to the 
originals ; and generally Northern seed is not all vital, due to imperfect 
pollination. New Jersey cantaloupes unite all the good qualities of form 
bize, color and flavor. Jersey sands seem to be the homo of the canta- 
loupe. 

733. Q. When does the pollination of squash, melon, cucumber, and Pollination. 
flowers of all other vine plants of like character take place? 

A. Nearly always early in the morning, and generally through the 
agency of insects. Some time may elapse during the passage through the 
style to the ovules, but it gets there finally. The female flower of the 
cucurbit family generally produces an embryo fruit or ovary before fecun- 
dation. Their fruit, if not fecundated, either produce unvitai seed or most 
generally drop off. Vine crops are retarded in pollination when frequent 



118 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Keepings 
Sugar Corn. 



Under- 
ground 
Grub.*. 

Classes of 
Insects. 



Insect* in 
Glass House. 



Cabhaso 
Heading. 



Vital 
Melon Seeds, 



Cabbage 
Lice. 



foggy moraings occur during the period of blooming, the water wetting 
the pollen and the succeeding hot sun burning it. 

734. Q. I buy my Sugar corn seed always about January 1, and when 
I come to unpack it in February I often notice a musty smell about it. 
IIow can I prevent this? 

A. Sugar corn is very full of oil, which becomes rancid if the seed is 
not dried thorouglily. Received in January, or even in February, it 
should be immediately taken out of the original packages, bags or boxes, 
and spread out, not over four inches deep, on a cool floor. If this pre- 
caution is not taken there may be much complaint from planters that the 
vitality proved to be low, when its failure to sprout was entirely the fault 
of tlie merchant or dealer. 

735. Q. What are the various articles whicli I can use to kill grubs and 
worms under the surface of the soil ? 

A. Kerosene emulsion, kainit, bisulphide of carbon, all are effective. 

736. Q. IIow many classes of insects has a gardener to figlit ? 

A. 1. Those known as external feeders, comprehending all which bite 
and eat vegetable matter. 

2. Those known as sap-suckers, which puncture vegetable tissues and 
extract the juices. 

8. Those known as internal feeders, which exist within the stems of 
plants. 

4. Subterranean insects, which eat vegetable matter beneath the surface. 

5. Those which destroy the dry seeds, either from the exterior or in- 
terior. 

737. Q. How can I best kill lice and other insects on melon plants in 
my glass house ? 

A. Fumigate witli tobacco twice a week. Don't wait till damage ia 
done, but smoke before the lice curl the leaves. Mites and mealy-bugs 
can be knocked off the vines by a hard stream of water. Bisulphide of 
carbon, when it can be applied to plants under a bell glass, is very effec- 
tive, but the cliemical is explosive and poisonous. Sulphur fumes are an 
invaluable agent in destroying mildew and red spider. Tliere is no ex- 
cuse for failure to kill insects inside of a glass house. 

738. Q. Why do cabbage plants sometimes fail to head, though fully 
old enough and planted out early enough ? 

A. Because of a want of nutrition. Cabbage plants sufficiently fed, 
and given time enough, will always head, provided the variety be of a 
heading sort. 

739. Q. Is a melon seed from a fruit in edible condition perfectly de- 
veloped ? 

A, Quite sufficiently developed. Allowed to remain in the fruit till it 
decayed, the seed would probably more fully fill out and become heavier, 
and retain its vitality for a year or two longer. 

740. Q. Is there a reliable remedy which can be used to rid cabbage 
plants of lice ? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 119 

A. Kerosene emulsion is probably the best — nothing is a positive 
cure. 

741. Q. "What is the effect of the successive use for years of but one Commercial 
kind of commercial fertilizer? Kertiiizera. 

A. The land will gradually decrease in productive capacity. Any, or 
all, commercial fertilizers used for years successively without stable man- 
ure or green crops plowed under will in tiie end be disappointing. 

743. Q. My lettuce, which promised a big profit, nearly all decayed i^«tt"«e 
before maturity. What is the cause ? ""^ * 

A. No doubt a fungus, for wliich there is no effective remedy, the let- 
tuce leaves being too delicate to resist treatment. The only remedy is to 
avoid that field the next year. 

743. Q. Which is the most productive third early pea of excellent Bioomsdale 
quality for private or market garden ? ^*** 

A. The Bloomsdale pea is phenomenally productive and in eating 
qualities surpassed only by the Landreths' Extra Early, having its size, 
color, flavor and general appearance when cooked. It matures its 
pods for table sixty-five days from germination and continues to bear for 
ten days a profusion of pods containing nine to ten peas in a pod. 

744. Q. Of tomatoes now in general cultivation whicii is the most ^^est 
showy as respects color, size and shape? Tomatoes. 

A. The Stone ; but several of the Bloomsdale Hybrids are superior to it 
in productiveness, earliness and shape. 

745. Q. What vegetables are there which can be grown in this country Unusual 
and which are really worthy of general culture, but which are not so cul- ^'eeeta'»i«8' 
livated ? 

A. Swiss Chard beet, the thick, marrow-like ribs of the leaves of 
which are eaten when prepared like stewed celery. Broccoli, which some- 
times succeeds where cauliflower fails. Brussels sprouts, which if not 
destroyed by lice will grow to perfection wherever the cabbage will flour- 
ish. Dandelion, the leaves furnishing an excellent salad. Sorrel, the 
long-leaved, very popular in France and Germany as a salad. Cos let- 
tuce, a form which should be better known. 

746. Q. How many kinds of insects are there feeding upon garden Number of 
vegetables, and how many sorts of rusts are there whica effect a lodg- insects and 
ment upon garden vegetables ? ** ^' 

A. Vegetables, like men, are subject to so many diseases that it is a 
wonder they ever arrive at maturity. To enumerate the number of in- 
sects would be difficult, especially as the number is always changed by 
the apparent disappearance of some and the unexpected appearance of 
others. So also with fungi, there being increase and diminution by con- 
ditions of moisture, heat, and previous condition of soil. 

747. Q. ^What is the most intensive branch of commercial vegetable ^"*®"''''^* 

a Culture. 

growmg ? 

A. Winter culture under glass as specially applied to the growing of 
tomatoes, cantaloupes, mushrooms, cucumbers and cauliflowers. 



120 



QUKRIE3 AXD ANSWERS. 



Ornamental 
Flowers. 



Bordeaux 
Mixture. 



Bordeaux 
Mixture and 
Paris Greeu. 



Poisoning by 

Bordeaux 

AUxture. 



History of 
Bordeaux 
Mixture. 



Time to 
DrlU. 



748. Q. Why cannot I succeed in Virginia in growing ornamental 
flowers with tiie same success as I did in Enghmd? 

A. In England the climate is damp, while in Virginia it is dry, the annual 
rainfall in Virginia not being over one third of as many inches of water. 
Some seasons annual and biennial flowers do admirably in the vicinity of 
Pliiladelphia, other years they are miserable failures, all depending upon 
the climatic conditions in June, July and August. 

749. Q. Will the repeated application of Bordeaux mixture poison the 
soil? 

A. No records of any injury, the copper sulphate being neutralized by 
the lime. 

750. Q. Can Bordeaux mixture, a fungicide, be mixed with an insecti- 
cide, and both applied at once? 

A. Yes ; Paris green or London purple can be mixed with Bordeaux 
mixture — one pound of llie arsenite to 100 gallons of Bordeaux — and used 
to good effect. As the mixture is very tenacious, care must be observed 
not to apply it immediately before tlie ripening of fruit, as rain will not 
entirely wash off the application, and some poison might remain on the 
fruit or vegetable. 

751. Q. Is there danger of poisoning members of the human family 
through fruits or vegetables which have been sprayed by Bordeaux 
mixture? 

A. None whatever, so far as any records go ; but it is best to avoid 
risks, and as maturation of fruits or vegetables approach to decrease to 
one-half the strength of the solution. 

752. Q. What is Bordeaux mixture? When was it introduced and 
what is it used for? 

A. It was introduced among the grape growers of Bordeaux, France, 
about 1878, but not brought into prominent notice until six to seven years 
later, when it was largely used in the treatment of black rot and downy 
mildew. This fungicide is now in more general use in the United States 
than in any other part of the world because American cultivators as a 
mass are more progressive men than foreigners. Much confusion exists 
as to its preparation. The general standard now may be taken as six 
pounds of good copper sulphate, free from iron or zinc, four pounds of 
strong, fresh quicklime, twenty two gallons of water. This mixture, 
which may be diluted by the admixture of two or three parts more of 
water, is used for spraying fruit trees, and all garden productions for the 
destruction of any vegetable fungous growth. 

753. Q. When drilling garden seeds is it best to drill before or after a 
rain ? 

A. If the drilling is done before rain the seed may lay without sprout- 
ing for days or even weeks, and the land baked hard as a brick, or if the 
seed sprouts from a little moisture it may subsequently die for want of 
more moisture. If rain quickly follows the drilling the germinating con- 
ditions may be all right, but the seed may be washed out of the drills or 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 121 

may be covered deeply by flooding and the stand be unsatisfactory. On 
the other hand, drilling after a rain Is best, because germination follows 
immediately and uniformly with little risk of a setback to the crop. 

754. Q. Is it a saving in labor and time to have long or short fields on Plowing and 

a farm ? Cultivating. 

A. It is decidedly economical in time to have a farm laid out in long 
fields, but it is seldom appreciated. On an acre field of ninety yards in 
length the time consumed in turning a plow and team on headlands is 
over three hours out of a day of ten hours, but on a field 300 yards long the 
time consumed is but one hour. 

755. Q. How far does a plowman walk in turningoveran acre of ground? Plowman. 
A. If his furrow slices be nine inches wide he has to walk over seven 

miles to the acre. 

756. Q. Do garden vegetables possess any quality like sensation ? ^i*»* 

A. Most certainly; their vital force in many instances being quite ^*''**"**°' 
animal ; and, more than that, they sometimes seem to possess intellect. 
They collapse under chloroform ; they perish under many poisons which 
destroy animal life ; they possess a circulation, which sometimes can be 
seen, their pollen unerringly performs its functions. In cases of vege- 
table irritability there are many plants, notably aquatic, which act more 
curiously than the Sensitive plant ; indeed, so briskly locomotive as to 
make it difficult to determine whether vegetable or animal. In the case 
of the so-called meat-eating plants some of the flowers display extreme 
irritability when meat is brought near to them, while they are entirely 
passive upon the approach of all other objects. 

757. Q. A.re not yellow ruta bagas and yellow carrots more nutritious White and 
than white ruta bagas and white carrots ? Yellow 

A. As a rule, vegetables of deep colors are considered richer than those'****''''' 
•without color. But this is probably a fiction ; the most sugary beets used 
in Europe for sugar-making are white. The sweetest of all table beets, 
the Bassano, is nearly white. 

758. Q. How can I kill the last crop of potato bugs, so that I may par- Potato Bug. 
tially rid my fields of the pest for next year? 

A. After the potato crop is harvested take a portion of the small, un- 
salable tubers, and chop them up in halves and quarters and dust them 
■well with Paris green. Broadcast these poisoned pieces over the potato 
field and they will soon be covered with bugs, all of whom will be killed. 

759. Q. How can I protect my watermelon patch from crows, which Crows. 
plug the fruit? 

A. Dissolve a quarter ounce of strychnine in four quarts of water and 
into the solution put one half bushel of corn. Let it soak for ten hours. 
Spread the soaked corn over bare spots in the melon field and the crows 
■will not come back for a second dose. 

760. Q. Is there such a thing as a rust-proof Wax bean, and will not the Rast-proof 
so-called Rust-proof Wax bean rust under certain conditions ? If so, what Wax Bean, 
is the nature of such conditions ? 



122 



QLTKRIKS AND ANSWERS. 



A. All beans will rust under conditions of dnmji ntmosphero. The 
disease, sis it is called, is a timgovis srrowth, which nv,»y bo purtially n>utcd 
by the application of Bordeaux mixture, but it must not bo applied to 
marketable beans 

7()1. Q. I have a patch of nidish <;rowin>; from a remnant of your seed 
left over fn-»m last year, when the style of the ivots were perfect, but this 
year the same lot of seed produces roots of all sliapes 

A. This will sometimes happen, and is a consequence of t1eld conditions 
or local influence ; each case has its own explanation. We cannot be held 
responsible for these variabilities. 

TliO. Q. What is the best fungicide? 

A. Bordeaux mixture, by all odds. Any one can make it and apply it. 
When a pump or syringe cannot be had, it can be dashed on the plants 
with a brvKMu dipped repeatedly in a bucket. 

7tV3. Q. What is the latest agricultural discovery? 

A. That the nxMs of the leguminous family develop corpuscles which 
absorb nitrogen from the air and thus enrich the soil for the feeding of 
succeeding crops. The etiect of leguminous plants is not new, but the 
manner of their stonige of nitrogen is a new discovery, tnst annoui\ced ia 
ISSO by Professor Holhiegol. 

7tU. Q. Where I came from, in (.icrmany, the soil of whole districts 
has been r.iisod tYom poverty to fertility by plowing under green crops of 
lupines. Why is it not done in parts of Virginia? 

A. Because the lupine will not thrive in Virginia for want of sutllciont 
moisture in the air and soil. Try cow peas, which will do perfectly well. 

TG5. Q. Is not cauliflower an uncertain crop ? 

A. Sometimes, but not always ; for localities are known where it Is 
uniformly a success — so much so that throe and four tine crops can bo 
successively grown on the same field, while, curious to say, other fields 
not far distant and apparently of same character and quality prove to be 
not adapted to the crop. A salt atmosphere is particularly favorable to 
the perfection of c;iuliflower, but in itself is no assunince of success ; 
favonible soil is an equal necessity. These two are not all, for supple- 
mental to them must be a moist, cool atmosphere during the heading sea- 
son. It is easy to grow cauliflower loaves — they will grow on any cab- 
bage soil — but to produce good heads of cauliflowers more is roipiirod than 
pertains to the most famous cabbage growing sections. 
Cantaloupes. 7tU>. Q. Why are more sports found in a poor cr4>]> of cantaloupes or 
watermelons than in a good crop, both good and poor patches grown from 
seed out of the same package? 

A. The seed being the same, the unfavorable circumstances producing 
the poor crop, which circumstances nniy have been too early or too lato 
planting, want of moisture, want of fertility, insect attack or fungous 
growth, are the causes of a variation of uneven growth of vino, unequal 
devolopment of fruit, all resulting in a variation of shape, flavor, or other 
usual or normal qualities. 



Radish— 
Toor Crop, 



FuMgicl«le. 



.•Vcricultural 
Discovery. 



Green Crops 



CaiilitloTver. 



gUKRIEH AND ANSWERfl. 123 

7«7. Q. When F>tatr.o8ordif^ront, HorfH arc grown Bule by bWc, will i-oUU,. 
tlic rnixlng or hylui.Jization hc-i wc-r^ri th.- flowcrn of dbilinc-t «^;rt8 prrWucc 
any appreciable change In the tuberu? 

A. No effect whaUiver, the seed In the seed-balls only being affected 
l-.y'^ry potato Ih like a graft or bud from the original parent, and pojlina- 
tlon don't aflfect it in the leaBt. 

m Q. Does a rank growth of vegetableH induce a tendency in thern ^mhIim.. of 
tfj take on new qualities ? v..fc'.:tahi«», 

A. Yc« ; it docH. The rnf>st intense deyeloprncnl of qualities of approved 
ci>lor, form and flavor are best [H=rpetiiat/;d In half-Htarved plantH On the 
r;r,ntrary. a luxurious growth causes plants to sport in all directions U, 
ran f>fr at tangents, generally to the bad. ' 

700. Q. I find In my lettucr^ seed some sr,rt of an insf.ct which fipins a i^n,,,.. 
web. causing the seed to adhere In lumr>». Why did you send me uncb-a.i ^"-'-t-' 
seed ? 

A. Nearly all oily seeds stored under conditions favorable to the dr-vel 
opment of egc^s will hatch out Insects. Many of thes.. iasecis will spin 
webs or otherwise cause the seed to adhere in lump... Nearly evf-ry s-r-d 
Las Its innect affinity, which deposiln egirs i„ the immature seed while 
standing in the field. The grubs from these eggs will haU;h out under 
conditK.ns favorable. The pc-a bug and the bean weevil are familiar ex 
amples. Lettuce seed, cabbage and turnip and vine sr,*^ all have their 
insect enemies. 

770 Q. Why is it that such seeds as I have to keep for over a few Hri^„„fy 
months in my st^.re here at SummerviUe, Ala., lr>se so much of their ^'^•^'-ti"?.' 
vitality? ' hfeftd«. 

A. Because of the moisture in your atmosphere swelling the germs to 
be afterwards dried by change of air and successively swollen and dried 
w^veral times, so that vitality is seriously weakened. This condition 
applies in various degrees to all those sections of the Gulf Slates where 
forest moss luxuriates. Where the moss flourishes the most vigorously 
the conditions stimulating its growth are intensely destructive^o seed 
Vitality, all thi>, the result of moisture in the air b'own in from the warm 
damp waters of the Gulf of MuxU-j,. 

771 Q. Among the Yankees, Winter squashes have a great celebrity Winter 
and I have eaten them in lioston with relish, but down here in Carolina '^i'^^*"*^ 
am disappointed. Why is it? 

A. Altogether climatic. With you in the South they grow Ux, fast and 
become cimrse, stringy, tough and are deficient in sugar. They do best 

772. Q. Will corn grown from grain taken from pr^intsand butts of ears Com. 
degenerate ? 

A. Not in one year ; but if such selection be continued for two years or 
more a change would be very noticeable. The practice even for one year 
IB not to be encouraged. 

77:j. Q. Which is the standard variety of late cabbage? i^at« 

Cabbage. 



124 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Phonograph 
Pea. 



Squash Vine. 



Clover. 



CnUlvatlon 

During 

Drought. 



Weeds on 

LiHWU. 



Cn cumber 
Ueetle. 



CahbaRo for 
riorida. 



A. Landreths' Large Late Flat Dutch is the unit of comparison hy 
which all other late sorts are gnidod. None exceed it and few equal it. 
Variations of this cabbage have been given all sorts of names, but new 
names make it no better, while the selection is often made by men who 
do not know what constitutes a good cabbage. 

774 Q. Wiiich is one of the best of the very large-podded peas? 

A. The Phonograph, almost as large podded as the Telejihone. Quito 
as early and productive and in every way its cijual, in fact far sweeter in 
Uavor. 

775. Q. What is the matter with my Hubbard squash vines? They are 
nearly all dying. 

A. No doubt they are dying at the root, either from an insect attack or 
from a fungus, probably now too far gone to do anything to save them. 
Another year, when tiie plants are just beginning to run, treat them at 
the root, both with Bordeaux mixture and an insecticide. 

776. Q Is it advantageous to sow ordinary Red clover with Crimson 
clover, that the Crimson may have a succession ? 

A. No ; the Crimson to be any good should form a dense mass the first 
Spring, and such a growth would smother out the much less developed 
plants of the common Red clover. 

777. Q. Will frequent horse cultivation of a crop in dry weather tend 
to provide the crop with more moisture at the root than if left without 
cultivation ? 

A. Yes ; the soil kept loose absorbs more moisture than it loses. Keep 
the horse cultivator going even if it kills a few plants, the others will be 
benefited to more than compensate for those injured by the culture. 

778. Q. For twenty years weekly, during Summer, I have cut my lawn 
with a horse lawn mower and no weed has gone to seed or risen over two 
inches in height. Tiiis Summer I was in Europe, and upon my return I 
find my once beautiful grass a wilderness of all sorts of weeds. IIow is it? 

A. This is one of the conunidrmus of horticulture. It is always so 
with any field not kept in ctintrol, be it grass or fallow. The seeds have 
been there all the time, a part sprouting every year, but formerly the 
young weed plants were cut off soon after germination. On tins 
occasion they were not so cut off, but attained full size, for weeds nearly 
always grow quickly. 

779. Q. Does the little, striped cucumber beetle come out of the land, 
or do the seeds of the cucumber contain the beetle? 

A. No, not out of the seed, but from the earth. Lime and salt, when 
not applied in too large a dose, arc beneficial. Kainilis good, so is nitrate 
of soda. Don't overdo the medicine. 

780. Q. Which is the best cabbage for Florida and the Gulf States, for 
July planting? 

A. Reedland Early Drumhead, as it stands the sun without burning or 
wilting, and has i>rovcd itself in every way adapted to the prevailing 
conditions of the Gulf atmosphere. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 125 

781. Q. What is the best spraying apparatus? Spraying 
A. We decline to talie sides on this question. Many are tlie best, if the •*»"*'"***"■• 

manufacturers are to be I>elieved. That one is f^ood which throws tlie 
liijuid to a distance and with force and well subdivided. Spraying to do 
any good must not be done in a hurry, but done elliciently. It must be 
done at the right lime, and the mixture correctly prepared and continually 
kept in agitation, that the parts may be kept in a perfect uniformity of 
suspension or admixture. The aim in spraying should be to cover every 
leal with minute particles of the fungicide or insecticide, drop|)ed on 
Ihem so llgluly as to remain and dry tiiere, leaving the destruetivi; prin- 
ciple behind. If put on in large drops it runs oil' and no practical results 
are attained. 

782. Q. What is celery blight? C«lery 
A. Djllereut developments of fungi, generally contracted in the seed HUght. 

bed; consequently the seed beds should be sprayed with Bordeaux mix- 
ture and the field plants also, but not when approaching maturity, as that 
might be dangerous to consumers. It is diflicult when the plants are 
large to treat them, as the blight or rot affects the centre of the plants. 
Less blight occurs when the celery is bleached between boards than when 
bleached by banking in earth. 

783. Q. What is the disease or rust occurring on beans and known as ni^iin 
anthracnose ? Antiu-acnose. 

A. It is a parasitic fungus attacking any part of the tissues of the root, 
stem, leaves or pods of either bush or j)ole beans. Il appears in the 
forms of ulcers, or sunken black and rusty spots, and is very contagious, a 
diseased pod or leaf quickly inoculating another. For instance, a basket 
of green pods, some diseased, others healthy, may in twenty-lour hours, 
by conlagicjn, all become diseased during the period of transportation. 
The disease can be transferred from place to place by a hoe or other im- 
plement. Wet weather is particularly favorable to the spread of this dis- 
ease. Soaking the seed beans in fungicides fails to do much good — belter 
results are attained by a weak solution of Bordeaux mixture applied to 
the plants every ten days. Too much Bordeaux mixture dwarfs the bean 
plants, or any other plant. 

784. Q. Is the anthracnose the only disease affecting beans? nean 

A. No ; there are several others, prominent among which is a bacterial AnUiracnoBe. 
disease known as the bean blight, under which the foliage becomes 
yellow, spotted and soon dead. Another, known as the bean rust, is 
the outward sign of an attack of fungi wiiich develops inside of the tis- 
sues of the leaf, and breaks out in the form of a discharge of rusty spores 
all capable of reproduction. Bordeaux mixture is the most satisfactory 
remedy to keep these in check. It will not stop them from originating. 
The scientific men have accomplished much in ferreting out the cliaracter 
of these diseases and are diligently endeavoring to find preventives, but 
nothing yet has been found which might be termed dead sure to slop 



126 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Soiling. 



Cantaloupe. 



Cos Lettuce. 



Watermelon 



liong: Green 
Cucumbers. 



Earliest 
Cucumber. 



Liettuce 
Trans- 
planting. 



Ruta Ragas. 
or 

Swedes. 



these bean diseases. Of coarse the fungi can be killed, and so can the 
beau plants. 

785. Q. What is meant by soiling? 

A. Feeding cattle, kept up in stalls or pens, food consisting of gieen 
stufl, as rye grass, millet or corn, taken off in sections from a field planted 
for the purpose. To cut for soiling the crop is always grown very thickly 
and it is fed when in full vigor of growth. At first care must be exer- 
cised or horses or cattle will overfeed. 

786. Q. Which is the superior in quality of cantaloupes, those of green 
or yellow flesh ? 

A. As a rule green-fleshed are the best in texture and best in flavor. 
Yellow fleshed sorts are generally tough and meaty — the green flesh 
being more crystalline. 

787. Q. Is Cos lettuce treated the same as other sorts of lettuce? 

A. No ; the erect leaves must be tied up with string, straw or grass. 
Thus treated the interior leaves become blanched to snowy whiteness 
and become brittle as glass. To those liking an absolutely pure, white- 
leaved lettuce the Cos has no superior. 

788. Q. What are the indications of ripeness in a watermelon ? 

A. The spiral, wire like tendril at the stem end of the melon is brown, 
the white bottom on the earth side of the melon has become wood}', and 
upon gently thumping with the back of the finger nail various melons, 
the sound will be found in unripe ones to be clear and bell-like, seeming 
to run down and through the melons, while in ripe ones the sound is dull, 
heavy and is not transmitted through the melon, because of a change in 
the character of the interior. By the tapping system an expert can dis- 
tinguish ripe from unripe melons in an instant. 

789. Q. Are there two sorts of Long Green cucumbers? 

A. Yes ; the Long Green as ordinarily' sold and the Long Green Turkey. 
The first is like an Early Frame, the second is slimmer and twice th«; 
length of Frame, sometimes twenty inches. The Turkey is a remarkably 
good sort, fine for pickling green, and when larger, very showy as a 
slicing sort. 

790. Q. Which is the earliest long cucumber? 

A. The Landreths' First. Not only early as the very short sorts, but 
exceedingly long. Not so long as a Long Green Turkey, but two weeks 
earlier than the Turkey and several days earlier than Spine or Frame. 

791. Q. Is it necessary to transplant lettuce to incline it to head ? 

A. Not absolutely necessary, but of decided advantage, as the tempo- 
rary check to vitality and the deeper setting in the earth all conduce to 
tiie development of a heading tendency. 

792. Q. There are a great many ruta bagas offered to planters, which 
sort is the best ? 

A. None can be compared to the Bloomsdale Swede. It is the earliest, 
roundest, largest, smoothest, best colored and most showy. Without any 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 127 

neck, with few root fibres, and the best Winter Iceeper of all forms of 
Ruta Bagas. 

793. Q. I only want to cultivate one sort of cauliflower. Which vari- Caniiflower. 
ety do you recommend ? 

A. The Snowball. Early and reliable in a cauliflower country. If 
you are not in such a locality it is not worth while to try and grow them 
in the open field. Of course they can be grown under glass anywhere 
under proper conditions of treatment. 

794. Q. A portion of my lawn, which I did not keep mowed down, is Sorrel, 
full of sorrel. How can I get rid of it ? 

A. Broadcast air-slacked lime at the rate of fifty bushels to the acre — 
the land is sour — that will sweeten it. 

795. Q. When drilling ruta baga seed, radish, spinach and other small Drilling. 
seeds, should not the man pushing the drill straddle the row so as not to 
tramp on the freshly placed seed? 

A. No ; let him walk right on top of the drill mark. If he had four feet 
he would not do any injury. Where he tramps the seed will be up first 
if the weather is dry. This indicates how advantageous rolling is, pro- 
vided the ground be not wet and provided there be no rain for one or two 
days. 

796. Q. Which are the most showy varieties of cantaloupes for exhibi- Cantalonpes, 
tion purposes? Showy Sorts. 

A. The Large White French and the Large Black Paris. Tested in the 
trial grounds of the Rural New Yorker, they were pronounced in Septem- 
ber, 1894, the most remarkable ever seen for size, general appearance, 
and quality, and most highly recommended to the public. 

797. Q. Whicla is tlie largest white flat onion ? Onion. 
A. The Bloomsdale Pearl. Early, large, flat — very mild. 

798. Q. Which spinach will stand the longest in the garden without spinach. 
shooting to seed? 

A. The Ever Ready ; the leaves very thick, dark and sturdy, and only 
shooting to seed long after other sorts have completely dried up. 

799. Q. Among onions, which is the earliest to make sets ? Onion. 
A. The Bermuda Red. 

800. Q. My turnip field, which two days ago was fine, the plants being ^amip Fly. 
one inch high and thick in the rows, is to-day all eaten up by a black 

bug. What can I do? 

A. Nothing but drill another field, it may be eaten up also — you will 
have to run that risk. The turnip fly, a jumping beetle, is at times ex- 
ceedingly destructive, eating the plants wlien from one-tenth to one inch 
high. After the plants develop the rough leaf they are comparatively 
safe. There is no remedy against this insect, as it often destroys the crop 
the day after hatching out, generally destroying it before the insect is 
Icnown to be present at all. 

801. Q. Is it best to spread and turn under longstrawed barnyard j^^^^^^ 
manure in the Autumn, or pile it for further decomposition and for appli- Manure, 
cation in the Spring? 



128 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Peat. 



Cantaloupe. 



Forcing 
Lettuces. 



Fungicides 

and 

Insecticides. 



Cabbage 
for Autumn. 



Weeds on 
Tennis Court, 



Weeds 

in General. 



Good Roads. 



A. Better pile it for further fermentation, provided it be piled and 
attended to so as not to burn or fire-fang, otherwise nearly all the valu- 
able properties will leave it. If this attention cannot be given it better 
spread it and plow under in the Fall. 

802. Q. Is peat valuable as a fertilizer? 

A. Yes, to a small extent ; but principally as an alterative, and as an 
aerator to heavier or lighter soils. It pays for digging and hauling on 
one's own farm at odd times, but it has no commercial value. 

803. Q. "What do you consider one of the best citrons or rauskmelons? 
A. The Annie Arundel cantaloupe or muskmelon — good size, oval to 

pointed, well ribbed, green in llesh and of exquisite flavor ; a good shipper. 

804. Q. Name one of the best forcing lettuces. 

A. The New York Experimental Station has two or three times an- 
nounced that Landreths' Forcing was one of tlie best. The Virginia 
Solid Header is an excellent one. 

805. Q. Can I plant my garden crops with (Confidence that, through the 
practical application of scientifically compounded fungicides and insecti- 
cides, I will be assured of my ability to keep the plants healthy? 

A. No ; the treatment of plant diseases is met with at every turn by 
unexpected checks and unlooked-for changes in conditions. The treat- 
ment against insects and fungi is at the most palliative. The scientists 
are always most sanguine, but the practical farmer and gardener know 
well how often their treatments fail to attain the results which they were 
so certain of securing 

806. Q. What is the best variety of cabbage for Autumn sowing? 

A. For early Fall the Raedland Early Drumhead. For Winter sow 
Market Gardeners' Large Late Flat Dutch. 

807. Q. I have a dirt lawn tennis court in which weeds are continually 
growing, and write to inquire how to prevent them from appearing ? . 

A. Spread a half bushel of salt on the court and two bushels of air- 
slacked lime. These applications will destroy weed seeds upon germi- 
nating and drive off worms, grubs and other insects. 

808. Q. Where do the weeds come from ? 

A. From your own carelessness or that of your predecessors. Not one- 
quarter of the weed seeds which ripen upon a cultivated field germinate 
the next year. Tliose which do, are mostly killed, but those seeds which 
do not germinate just lay in the ground awaiting ftivorable opportunity. 
To these seeds laying dormant are every year added a fresh supply, so 
that your soil— all soils — are thoroughly stocked with seeds ready to spring 
into life under favorable conditions. To many seeds these conditions may 
not come for years. To some not for twenty years, but when the condi- 
tions do present themselves the weeds come up with the certainty of taxes. 

809. Q. Is the so-called good roads agitation, which will increase the 
taxes of farmers, in their interest ? 

A. Farmers as a rule are blind as bats. They are so afraid of taxation 
as to stand in the way of their own interests. Farmers, rather than 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 129 

repair a mud hole at the county's expense, still more at their own, will 
drag along through it for weeks. Not only one hole but a score, if, in- 
deed, the whole length of a frequently traveled road is not in a wretched 
condition — dragging along day by day, wrenching iheir wagons, breaking 
their harness, injuring their horses and souring their tempers. They are 
afraid of doing something which may add to the comfort of some one who 
did not contribute to the improvement. It is this penny-wise and pound- 
foolish policy which prevents farming from being as profitable as it should 
be, and which brings ridicule so much upon the farming community. 

810. Q. Wliat is the best shipping watermelon ? Watermelou, 
A. If to withstand rough usage on railroads the Kolb Gem, but it is shipper. 

the poorest in quality of any to be found in market. The taste of the 
whole melon-loving community has been debased by the use of these 
miserable Kolb Gems. The best watermelon, all things considered, is 
Arkansas Traveler, color, black green, rind very tough and woody, but 
extremely thin, flesh deep scarlet, and edible to within half an inch of the 
outside, interior always solid crystalline, exceedingly juicy, and sugary to 
the most remarkable degree, and yet the rind is hard as wood, fitting it to 
bear long transportation and rough usage. 

811. Q. I am a canner of peas and find it difficult to put up a perfectly p^^^ 
uniform grade, in fact I am surprised to find so great a diflference in the for Canning, 
same variety of peas ? 

A. The fault is probably your own. Tou possibly do not buy the 
green pods in the same condition one time with another ; or perhaps you 
buy too many at a time, and the last of the lot before you get to it is hard 
and oflf-color. Don't always blame the seedsman — look a little at home. 

813. Q. I want to put down a two-acre lot in grass for my cows. Pastnre 
Which kind or variety of grass is the quickest and most permanent ? Grass. 

A. Blue grass is not quick, but by all odds it is the best. On a lime- 
stone soil it will remain good for fifty years. 

813. Q. What is the best shipping cantaloupe? Cantaloupe. 
A. Strongly webbed or netted sorts will stand abrasion during 

transportation. This quality, however, is no measure of flavor. But 
both for shipping and eating, none are superior to Anne Arundel. 

814. Q. I have just dug my potatoes and they are covered with scabs. Potato Scab. 
What is the cause ? 

A. The injury may be from several causes : the tubers at one period of 
their growth may have been overcharged with juice which burst the skin, 
and nature endeavoring to heal the wounds produced scars or the scabs 
may be the result of a fungous growth upon the skin. This could have 
heen diminished if not nearly all prevented by giving the planting stock, 
after cutting, a bath in corrosive sublimate. 

815. Q. What are the best varieties of lettuce for Autumn use? Lettnce. 
A. Bloomsdale Early Summer, Virginia Solid Header, and Reliable. 

816. Q. What do the commercial manure men mean by available phos- phosphoric 
phoric acid ? Acia. 



130 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



Tomatoes 
Suubiu'iied. 



Imported 
Cabbage. 



Onions 

Staggy. 



Rye, Winter 
or Spring ? 



Wood Ashes 



A. They classify phosphoric acid in three forms : 1. Soluble. 2. The 
Reverted, slightly soluble. 3. The Insoluble. The third gradually be- 
comes available to very slow-growing plants, but it is not slightly active 
as is the Reverted, or as the lirst, which is altogether active. It would 
be best for purchasers to insist upon having the analysis of the soluble 
alone, as distinct not only from the Insoluble but also distinct from the 
Reverted. 

817. Q. What is the matter with my tomatoes? The sort is Beauty, and 
very largo and perfect, but nearly all have a big lemon-colored spot on 
one side. 

A. They are sunburned. To prove it examine those covered with 
leaves, which you will find without the yellow spots. It is a good plan to 
sow buckwheat upon a tomato patch when the plants first come into 
bloom to protect the fruit against sunburn. 

818. Q. I bought in St. Louis three pounds of so-called Late Flat 
Dutch cabbage seed, which in the bed and afterwards in the field 
looked all right, but now in September the plants have lost half of their 
leaves. 

A. No doubt you got imported seed. Late varieties of imported cab- 
bage seed never do well in this country. You probably bought it at a 
cheap price and you have gotten your reward. The imported sorts lose 
their leaves in time of drought. No reliance whatever can be placed 
upon them, for our sun is too hot except in the far Northern tier of States. 

819. Q. What is the cause of my onions growing staggy or stiff-necked. 
Is it the fault of the seed or climatic condition ? The seedsman from whom 
I bought the seed. Red Wethersfield, says it is due to the wet season. 

A. Both wet and very dry seasons will tend to develop the growth of 
stags in onions, even from the very best seed. Too much moisture 
makes them so rampant they having no time to stop to bulb, and on the 
other hand a very dry season don't develop in them vital force enough to 
make bulbs ; but there is another cause which often results in a staggy 
growth, that is in the sowing of imported seed from Italy or other cheap 
sections of Europe. The market gardener who purchases cheap onion 
seed or get it from unproved parties deserves to have a crop of stags. 

830. Q. What is the difl'erence between Winter and Spring rye? Can 
the Spring rye be used for sowing in the Autumn? 

A. Yes, with a fair prospect of standing the Winter, if it be mild. A 
first crop of Spring rye sown in the Autumn of course would not possess 
that hardiness of constitution which it could acquire if the system was 
continued for several years. Winter rye sown in Spring might not ripen, 
might only produce empty heads on account of an insufficient develop- 
ment previous to the setting in of hot weather. For example, Virginia 
Winter oats sown in Pennsylvania in April docs very well but ripens 
three weeks later than Spring oats. 

821. Q. What effect has the application of wood ashes upon lawns? 

A. The potash of wood ashes makes the grass a deep green and strong 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 131 

in root, but it is not so stimulating to leaf production as guano or nitro- 
genous manure. It is best applied in Winter, as in Summer it is very- 
likely to burn the leaves of tlie grass. Applied in "Winter, 1000 to 2000 
pounds to the acre, the rains dissolve it and wash it into the soil, where it 
gradually becomes assimilable as plant food to be drawn upon tor use in 
the Spring and Summer. It is quite continuous in effect. 

822. Q. Do local climatic conditions have much influence upon the Climatic 
growth of plants? L^AffSj 

A. It is both curious and very instructive to investigate the effects of^^^^^'^' 
climate upon garden vegetables grown from seed. In fact a removal of 
but a few miles from a locality is in some cases sufficient to produce 
marked results, not because of a change of soil, for that can be mechani- 
cally manipulated, at least on small patches for garden purposes, but 
entirely because of change in atmospheric conditions. Thus, for instance, 
Long Island farmers grow very profitable crops of cauliflower of most 
inviting form, size and color, and with no more care than bestowed upon 
a crop of cabbage, whilst no success whatever can be expected with a 
field crop of cauliflower in the vicinity of Philadelphia, only one hundred 
miles distant, even though the same seed be used — all attributable 
entirely to a difference of climatic conditions of the two localities. The 
influence of climate is also observed in the case of the onion, as in Con- 
necticut there are grown, direct from the seed, thousands of acres of prof- 
itable field crops of onions unrivaled in form, size and color, but the same 
seed sown in Pennsylvania will only make sets, and poor ones at that, 
often only stags. Again, Philadelphia-grown onion seed sown in the 
vicinity of Philadelphia will always make sets, but it is never profitable 
to make big bulbs, the climate is against it ; but in all other sections this 
same Philadelphia seed will develop bulbs of full marketable size. 

833. Q. What is humus, and is it of much value? Humus. 

A, It is a vegetable and sometimes partially animal mold, and is 
generally a black powdery substance in the last condition of decomposi- 
tion. It may have been wood, straw, leaves, peat, or all of these and 
more, exposed for a long time to moisture and the action of air. A good 
example of vegetable mold turning to humus is that carpeting the ground 
in old forests, a spongy covering obstructing evaporation and absorbing 
rain and snow. Humus is dissipated by slow combustion in air, and in 
decomposition forms nitric acid. Soils are fertile in proportion to the 
humus they contain, and it preserves them in a loose state for air and 
water to enter ; the loss of humus consequently results in a drying up and 
hardening of the soil. It is valuable, as under the influence of microbes 
and alkalines the humic matter is oxydized and a part transformed into 
nitrates. Without humus in the soil no plants of the legume family, and 
they comprise peas, beans and clover, can flourish. Possibly the reason 
some soils fail to grow clover is because of the exhaustion of the humus 
in them. 

824. Q. Why is it that a large quantity of onion seed of European imported 

Onion. 



182 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



A Seed, 
What Is It? 



growth is so unreliable in this country, generally making stags or thick 
necks ? 

A. There are several causes ; many varieties of high reputation in 
Europe never doing well south of Canada. The varieties not acclimated 
will not stand our semi-tropical sun ; some other sorts which sometimes 
do well have proved to be unreliable because too often grown in climates 
not favorable to the retention of their desired qualities — these causes and 
others result in stags, bad shapes, mixed forms and colors, and very 
often disappointment, and loss of crop. 
New 825. Q. Are new sorts of potatoes, developed from the true seed col- 

FotHtoes. lected from seed balls borne on top of the vines, more healthy than 
potatoes grown from the eyes of tubers of established sorts? 

A. Often so, but not always. Seeds to produce heallhl}' plants of any 
kind must be grown from healthy plants ; consequently, if true potato seed 
is picked otl' a vine of a potato plant which is unhealthy or running out, the 
seed itself will be disposed to run out or develop some weakness. But the 
seeds will vary, some will produce vines strong and desirable ; but the 
majority from seed taken from unhealthy plants are entirely unreliable as 
to constitution. 

82G. Q. What is a seed ? 

A. A seed is a ripened ovule, made vital or able to perpetuate by the 
mysterious action of pollen working upon the female organs of the 
flower from wiience the seed sprang. Nearly all seeds have two coats 
which surround the kernel, which latter, the kernel, may be the embryo 
alone, or it may be surrounded by a protecting and food substance 
termed the endosperm, vaiiably farinaceous, oily, fleshy, corneous, or 
hornj'. Tlie embryo is that part of the seed which starts into growth and 
develops the young plant, in fact it is the young plant in miniature. The 
location of the embryo on the seed is variable according to the species. 
In corn and wheat it is jioi in the interior, but on one side and on the 
surface. 
' Onion Tkrip. 827. Q. What can I do with my onion field on which a little insect has 
almost destroyed the crop by eating the soft bark of the young plants? 

A. If tlie insect referred to has eaten the cuticle of the leaves so that 
Ihey appear covered with minute whitish yellow spots almost touching, 
making the field almost appear white, it is the work of the onion thrip. 
It will also eat melon, squash, turnip and a number of other plants. Try 
solution of whale oil soap or kerosene emulsion. 
TVinier 828. Q. In this part of Virginia we grow white Winter wheat, but the 

TV'hettt, millers all want a flinty hard sort, and I want to know if I can profitably 

raise far Northern Spring wheats, which are all flinty, by sowing them in 
the Autumn? 

A. You can ; and it is being done in many localities. They stand the 
Winter when not very severe, and the second year, grown South, do 
l.'ctter than the first, because of having been acclimated, but by the third 
season the grain loses its flinty quality, becoming mealy. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 133 

829. Q. After removing my cotton crop the fields became covered with Green 

a growth of green stuflf, and I write to inquire if it would have any value ^'^^'*'*'"'"sr» 
as a green manure? 

A. Most certainly. By all means plow under the weeds and grass. To 
burn them is a most foolish practice. Plowed under before the seeds 
ripen, no matter v/hat kind of weed, they will to a small degree fertilize 
the earth, and are valuable in loosening it so that air and moisture can 
more readily penetrate it, and the roots of cultivated crops more freely 
ramify. The continued application of commercial fertilizers will harden 
and bake any land, consequently green manuring should be resorted 
to whenever possible. 

830. Q. What is the average percentage of the vitality of farm seeds? Seed Vitality. 
A. The government of Switzerland has established a Seed Control 

Station at Zurich, and during the year 1892 made nearly 6000 official 
tests of vitality. The average was, of 

Red Clover 88 per cent. 

White Clover 77 

Alsike Clover 78 

Orchard Grass 81 

Fox Tail 62 

Blue Grass .• 55 

The Austrian Seed Control Station in 1892, paying special attention to 
the suV)ject of Sugar Beet seed, established an official standard of 80 per 
cent, of germinating clumps as indicative of excellence. 

831. Q. Are all the vegetable oils of the same nature? Vegetable 
A. No ; they nearly all differ, and are distinct in turn from the essential ***^** 

oils of the same plants, the essential oils being all volatile. Fixed fats 
and oils are found in many agricultural seeds, notably in rape, or colza, 
flax, hemp, cotton, castor beans and peanuts. All these contain from 
10 to 50 per cent, of expressable oil. The essential oils are obtained by 
boiling and distillation, and it is these oils which give the odor to plants. 

833. Q. My attention lias l)een called to the condition of the leaves of Mining Flies, 
my beets and radishes, all of which are channeled out or mined by some 
worm. How can I fctop it? 

A. The injury is done by the larvae of some one of the mining flies. 
There is no remedy to apply to the present crop. The only course is to 
attempt to destroy the insects after they drop to the earth to remain all 
Winter. This may be partially done by oil, salt, lime. 

833. Q. Have you a table giving the number of plants to the acre of Plants 
those sorts of garden vegetables which are usually or sometimes started *<> ^*=»"«' 
under glass for transplantation into open ground ? 

A. The number of plants set to an acre depends on the distance be- 
tween the rows and the spaces between the plants in rows, some market 



134 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Origin of 
some Double 
Flowers. 



Soil 
Exhaastiou. 



Loss of 

Soil 

Fertility. 



Hoots, 

Various 

Kinds. 



gardeners setting more than twice as many as others, dependent upon 
strength of soil. The following is an approximation of the quantities : 

Cabbage 10,000 

Cauliflower 10,000 

Pepper 7,000 

Tomatoes 3,000 

Egg Plant 3,000 

834. Q. How do gardeners obtain double flowers of ornamental plants? 
A. A double flower is one in which some or all of the stamens or pistils 

are changed to petals or flower leaves, or a flower in which the normal 
number of flower leaves is greatly increased. The change results in the 
loss of power in the plant to develop seed. It is often entirely brouglit 
about by starvation of the growing plant, sometimes by debility in the 
seed, a consequence of age or exposure. 

835. Q. What proof is there that plants exhaust the soil? 

A. A good proof is that the soil in pots or tubs is exhausted by plants 
remaining in the pots or tubs for a considerable time, the effect being 
smaller foliage and flowers, and weak branches. As these conditions can 
be relieved by the application of manure it is clearly demonstrable that 
the soil was exhausted. 

83G. Q. How do soils become exhausted ? 

A. Partially by the loss of nitrogen in the soil. Large amounts of 
nitrogen are lost by natural soil drainage, the rains carrying down the 
nitrogen to a depth beneath the reach of roots. This especially occurs on 
fields not covered with crops, for when so covered the crop evaporation 
keeps water up near the soil, but when bare the water sinks, taking the 
nitrogen down. This is one argument for catch crops, that is, temporary 
crops, quick growers, as Scarlet clover, or Cow peas. These cover the 
ground, stopping drainage, and the leeching away of nitrogen, and if the 
catch crops are well selected they add more nitrogen through their 
growth. Nitrogen also becomes exhausted partially through a diminution 
in humus, which by a chemical action and change affords nitric nitrogen. 
Nitrogen, however, is not the only food constituent which subsoil drain- 
age removes, for there may be a loss of phosphoric acid and potash also. 

8.37. Q. What are the names and distinctions of the fleshy, earthy 
stems of plants ? 

A. They are all classed as roots, but they are distinguished from roots 
proper by producing regular buds or bearing scars indicating formed 
leaves. A rhizom is a thickened starchy root stem, as illustrated by the 
calamus or by the wire grass. A tuber is an enlargement of a bud of an 
underground stem illustrated by the white potato. All tubers are rich 
in starch. A bulb half in and half out of ground is an abbreviated stem, 
formed of the basis of thickened leaves termed scales, illustrated by the 
onion. Bulblets are small bulbs offset from large bulbs, often seen on 
the outside of hyacinths. Corms are like bulbs but solid or without 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 135 

scales. Roots, a term so frequently used ia agriculture, indicate those 
solid fleshy portions of plants which grow partly in and partly out of 
ground, as beets, turnips, or carrots. The out-of-ground and underground 
portions of beets have somewhat distinct characteristics. Nitrogenous 
materials are more concentrated in the underground parts, while sugar is 
found mostly in the above ground portions. 

838. Q. Why do the flowers of some garden vegetables retain their Retention of 
freshness so much longer than others ? Freshness. 

A. Some plants pollenize much easier than others, and nature seems to 
give a physical strength to certain floweis to retain their freshness while 
awaiting pollination. It has been observed that quick-withering flowers 
retain their freshness for unusual periods if not pollen ized, seemingly 
awaiting the event for which they were created, but as soon as the pollen 
grains touch the pistils the flowers immediately lose their freshness. 

839. Q. In the case of turnip seed, is new crop better than old crop? Turnip Seed. 
A. If the old crop is not older than one year and was well harvested 

and since well kept, it is as good as new — in fact better, as it will sprout 
more uniformly, being more susceptible to a slight degree of moisture. 
New crop turnip with some persons seems to have a charm, but it comes 
in late, seldom ready before the lOlh of July, and what is gained in vital- 
ity is lost by delay in planting. Of course two-thirds ot what turnip 
seed is sold as new crop is old crop ; not always of the preceding year, 
however, for sometimes it is old enough to vote. 

840. Q. Is there any way besides trapping by which I can rid my farm Moles. 
of ground moles? 

A. Try injecting into the mole runs, at distances of ten feet apart, a gill 
of liquid bisulphide of carbon ; the poisonous fumes may kill the moles or 
drive them away. Another remedy worth trying is to place small pieces 
of meat with strychnine upon it in the runs. 

841. Q. Is there any standard weight for a bushel of onion sets ? standard 
A. No ; and there cannot be, for the reason that sets vary in weight ac- Weight. 

cording to size and density, and they decrease in weight constantly from 
time of harvest to time of planting, which may be a period of six months. 
The only fair and just way of selling onion sets is by the bushel, and they 
should be sold by a stroke bushel, for that measure is the same every- 
where, a heaped or rounded bushel varying more or less according to the 
spirit of the measurer. 

842. Q. What is the Irish shamrock ? Shamrock 
A. It is the White Dutch clover, common everywhere. White Clover. 

843. Q. A friend in Brazil sent me some watermelon seeds from fruit ^ 

JT ordfim 
said to be the best in Rio, but upon trial I find them little better than seed. 

pumpkins? 

A. Just the experience of every one. The writer has repeatedly got 
the best of sorts of all seeds from South America, and they seldom prove 
of any value in Pennsylvania because of the change in climatic con- 
ditions. 



136 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Latitude 
Atrecting 
(iarden 
Seeds. 



roiiinatioiiof 844. Q. ITow do water plants growing under water effect the pollina 
Water I'lauts ji^jQ of their flowers? 

A. Sometimes the male flowers are borne on short stems, and when 
perfected detach themselves and rise to the surface, where they meet the 
female flowers. At other times they are borne on long stems rising to 
the surface. The female flowers are always borne on long stems or 
peduncles reacliing to the surface of the water where the pollination only 
takes place. As a rule water plants will only grow where the flower 
stems can reach the surface. 

845. Q. What latitude or climate is best suited for the production of 
garden seeds 

A. It is well-known that garden peas do best under the atmospheric 
influence of the Great Lakes, as along the Canadian shores of Lakes 
Ontario and Erie, and along the American shores of the same lakes, or 
within the influence of lake air. Sugar corn, on the other hand, grown in 
New England has long been proverbial for its high sugarj'^ qualities and 
retention of type, qualities which it loses in the West, the sugar corn grown 
there becoming thicker and altogether larger and more mealy in the 
grain, instead of retaining its qualities of lightness, and corneous, and 
oily character. Vegetables for the production of small seeds develop best 
in the sections indicated by New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, as 
there the full flavor of the vegetable is retained, and outward appearances 
of the seed stock remain unchanged, which is not the case when the same 
vegetables are grown on the richer soils of the West. The West produces 
very showy mammoth vegetables, but Eastern seeds grown on slower 
soils are more true in their disposition. The district referred to, styled by 
the Census Bureau the "Pennsylvania District," has a better climate for 
the full perfection and full retention of typical qualities of shape, size, 
color, flavor, as its climate is very favorable to insuring perfect pollina- 
tion, consequently a higher vitality in the seeds than from districts 
hirther North, South, or West. 

840. Q. Is there a seed adulteration law in the United States, as in 
England? 

A. No ; but there should be to prevent like frauds as held in check — 
only in partial check, however — by the English law which was passed 
about 1870, and which laid heavy penalties for adulteration with dead 
seeds. Before that date it was a common practice in England when seeds 
fell in vitality to a percentage too low to sell, to roast them in kilns to de- 
stroy all remaining vitality. Kilns for such purposes were established in 
various parts of England, and they did a thriving business. Any kind of 
turnip, cabbage, radish, beet, or other seed of no value, because of 
low vitality, could be killed and mixed with some high-priced variety of 
the same family, thus lowering the cost of the whole. In the case of 
clover, quartz rock was ground into sand, graded to size, colored like 
clover, and used as an adulterant of clover. While the English law pro- 
hibits the sales of adulterated seed in England, there is no law to prevent 
adulterated seed being sent to Americiu 



Adulteration 
of Seeds. 



QUfiRIE3 AND ANSWERS. 137 

847. Q. What can I do to eradicate the wild carrot ? wild Carrot. 
A. Pulling up the plant or cutting off below the surface of the ground is 

the only remedy. 

848. Q. What are the merits of Dwarf Essex rape? Essex Kape. 
A. It is a good, healthy, broad-foliaged, palatable plant for feeding cattle 

or sheep, producing twenty to thirty tons of green stuff to the acre. It 
grows three feet high, and is highly recommended, especially for sheep 
feeding. It covers the surface so densely as to smother out all weeds and 
to kill twitch or quack grass. It should be sown in drills or rows at 
twenty- four to thirty inches apart, and at the rate of two pounds to the 
acre. 

849. Q. What is the substance termed pollen ? PoUeu. 
A. Taken as a whole, it may be described as a dust of microscopic 

parts or grains of defined shape, varying according to the family of plants 
producing it. It is the vitalizing portion from the male organ of a plant, 
and is intended by nature to be brought into contact with the female 
organs of flowers, which occurs by its falling upon them, or by being car- 
ried by insects. It retains its vitality for varying periods, in some cases 
but for a day, in other cases for months. It can be carried by the wind 
for many miles and thus produce many curious hybridizations. When a 
grain of pollen reaches the mouth of the pistil, which is frequently moist, 
the pollen grain immediately develops a long tube which penetrates, seem- 
ingly by some mysterious instinct, the pistil no matter what its length, till 
it reaches its base, when some hidden operation occurs necessary to the 
development of seed which will perpetuate the species. The passage of 
the above-described tube from the lip of the pistil down to the ovules at 
its base may occur in a few minutes, or may take days, or weeks, accord- 
ing to the species of plant. Sometimes the distance is equal to 9000 times 
the diameter of the pollen grain, a familiar example being found in the 
long silky threads of corn sometimes nearly two feet in length. Pollen 
grains are produced in great numbers, often a single flower ])roducing 
100,000 grains. It is calculated that the pollen produced on an acre of 
wheat amounts to fifty pounds. 

850. Q. What is the influence of size and weight of seed upon the Seed as to 
growth of plants ? Si=Ee and 

A. Full plump seeds will generally sprout quicker than smaller seeds * * ^* 
of the same kind, and seeds under size will generally produce weaker 
plants than those from plump heavy seed, but plants from the small seeds 
will generally be found to mature a degree earlier and occasionally be 
quite as productive. The plants from the plump seeds will generally be 
more vigorous in foliage, as they obtain a better start immediately after 
germination. 

851. Q. Down here I cannot obtain all the stable manure I require and commercial 
want to know what you consider the best commercial fertilizer? Fertilizers. 

A. As there are over 1000 brands of commercial fertilizers made in the 
United States, it is impossible to say what is best, for so many are good, 



138 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Barnyard. 



Cockle. 



Germiuation 
Cause. 



Clover Seed. 



'Watermelons 



Nitrogen 
Source. 



and so much of value depends on costs of freight. In your locality the 
best is that one which produces the most telling effect for the least outlay 
of cash, and that information you can best get by conferring with your 
neighbors, for their experience is far more practical than anything the 
writer can suggest withcmt a knowledge of your soil conditions. 

853. Q. How many loads of l)arnyard manure should I put on my gar- 
den of one acre, and when should I apply it? 

A. Seven to ten tons to the acre broadcasted in tlie Spring and plowed 
under as soon as spread. Barnyard manure so old and rotten as to be 
short like compost is already reduced to half its value, and on the other 
hand when so long as to l)e like straw is but of half value. 

853. Q. IIow can I prevent cockle in wheat? 

A. Sow clean seed, or if you cannot purchase absolutely clean seed 
make it so by sieving, riddling, or hand picking. Of the crop grown 
from this seed take a portion of a field, one to twenty acres, as may be re- 
quired, and pull out by hand every cockle plant, and cu*; off every head 
of rye till the stock is uniformly pure. 

854. Q. What causes seeds to germinate? 

A. liloisture and temperature supplemented by oxygen. Of moisture 
various amounts are required, most seeds requiring an absorption of over 
their weight in water. Some must be completely soaked in water, and 
others only have the smallest quantity. Moisture penetrates the seed, 
swells the albumen, dissolves de.\lriue, and is the vehicle which conveys 
nutrition to the young plant in the seed. Of temperature there is an 
equal variation. Wheat will sprout 45° F., but the most fovorable range 
of vegetable seeds is from 75^ to 90°. Peas and onion seed will sprout at 
a moderate temperature. Beans and melon seeds require a high tempera- 
ture. Low temperature retards the formation of lateral rootlets, buds 
and leaves. A high temperature causes their rapid development. Oxygen 
appears to be necessary to sprouting seeds to change the starch into dex- 
trine and then into sugar. The oxygen is obtained both from the air and 
the water 

855. Q. IIow much clover seed is annually saved in the United States? 
A. Tlie late Census report gives the clover crop as 2,75:5,000 bushels 

annuiilly, and the grass seed crop in the aggregate as 3,000,000 bushels. 

850. Q. My watermelons all have big round brown spots on top, most 
seriously injuring their salable qualities. What is the cause? 

A. Sunburn. Next year broadcast buckwheat before the vines come 
into bloom. By the time the melons are ripe the buckwheat will have 
risen above them, partially protecting from the sun. 

857. Q How do soils obtain nitrogen from the air? 

A. It is theorized— really believed— that a part of the free nitrogen of the 
air enters into the cycle of plant growth through tiie agency of bacteroids, 
the product of miscroscopic organisms. The cryptogamic plants on or 
near the surface of the soil, flourishing more on damp soils than on dry, 
collect and assimilate ammonia to an extent about equal to the amount 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 139 

present in the soil before their growth. There is a continuous loss of 
nitrogen in the soil, not alone through the demand upon it by cultivated 
plants, but by leeching down, or by natural soil drainage and by evapora- 
tion. 

858. Q. On my farm are lots of wild parsnip infested at seed time with "Web Worm. 
a web insect. It may get on other plants. How can I destroy it ? 

A. It is almost impossible to destroy this worm. The writer has tried 
everything to save patches of twenty acres of parsnip at a time and with- 
out success. Your best plan is to mow off the parsnips before they shoot 
to seed and thus starve out the insect. 

859. Q. In 1894 I bought from j'our house 1500 pounds of Jersey Cucumber 
pickle cucumber and drilled nearly all of it, getting a crop as tine as^*"**^""* 
respects form and productiveness as ever seen in this locality. This Spring 

I drilled what seed I had left over, about 300 pounds, and cannot recog- 
nize the product as from the same seed, but I know it was, and write for 
an explanation. 

A. Climatic altogether, the type or strain is just the same, but the con- 
ditions of growth have been different : more or less rain or drought, cold 
or heat ; a variation in the degree of vivifying sunshine ; more or less 
fertility of soil, influenced in both cases by preceding crops ; insect, or 
fungous ravages above or under ground ; variations in periods of drill- 
ing — all these and as many more influences determine results. 

860. Q. What manure should I apply to my onion crop ? I can't get Manure 
stable dung. for Onions. 

A. Previous to drilling the onion seed, broadcast 400 to 500 pounds to 
the acre of dried blood, dried meat, or fish, or guano, to give ammonia or 
nitrogen ; and 500 to 600 pounds wood ashes to the acre, to give potash. 
Superphosphate is not so necessary as the nitrogen and potash, which 
makes tissue ; for where grain or other seed is not in view, phosphoric 
acid is not demanded so much as the other two components of vege- 
table food. 

861. Q. I have two lots of seed of Zig Zag Adams Early Table corn, ^orn 
one grown in Pennsylvania, the other, a far better looking sample, grown Variation. 
in Illinois. "Why is this? 

A. Exactly so. The rich soil of the West will always produce the most 
showy grain, the largest and heaviest ears, the tallest stocks, but all at 
the sacrifice of earliness. If you want a horse corn get seed ofT of prairie 
soil, but if you want an Early Table corn get it off of the older soils of 
the East. 
863. Q. How big do you grow watermelons in Jersey ? Watermelon 

A. The writer has seen them of 100 pounds, but such are unsalable. Size. 
No one will take a hundred pounder as a gift, and anything over fifty 
pounds sells slowly because the experienced one knows that it is coarse in 
flesh. The forty-pounder is big enough for any one family. Big things 
in vegetables are never the best. Don't be influenced by size — look for 
quality. 



140 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Potato 863. Q. Some worm is in the stalks of my potato patch boring them 

Stemitorer. from end to end so that they are drying up. What can I do? 

A. You can't do anything. The pest is most likely a grub known as 
the potato stem borer, a worm about a quarter of an inch long. They 
begin their work in June and frequently eat out the entire heart of the 
stems. Of course they reduce the crop, and there is no remedy known to 
destroy the grub while working within the stem. After harvest burn all 
potatoes vines and everything else upon the field. 

Shallots. 864. Q. In what way does a shallot differ from an onion ? 

A. A shallot seldom produces seed, and its bulbs when planted divide 
into a number of cloves which remain attached to a common disc, and 
finally become as large as the original bulb. The true shallot grows about 
an inch in diameter, is pale gray, and is much elongated, but there is a 
bastard form nearly round. 

Potato Onion 863. Q In what way does the Potato onion differ from the usual form 
of onion ? 

A, It does not produce either seed or bulblets, and is only propagated 
by cloves formed underground, same as in the case of the shallot. If 
well-developed cloves are planted in September, fair-sized edible onions 
may be harvested in April, but if left in the ground several weeks longer 
the bulbs will split, producing many small ones, the largest of these in 
time producing cloves, the smallest forming edible bulbs. Potato onions 
are very diflicult to keep when taken out of the ground, as they decay 
rapidly. 

Top Onion. 8^6. Q. Describe the difference between Top onions and ordinary 
onions. 

A. Top onions of large size are grown from sets or bulblets produced 
the preceding year on the top of high stalks sent up from large onions. 
There are two forms, those producing bulbs with one heart and those 
of three to five hearts. Only the form producing the single-hearted 
bulblet is valuable, the others splitting up into many undersized plants 
which never reach a good size and seldom ripen down their tops. The 
single-hearted sort is worth three times the price of those having divided 
hearts, which are next to valueless except as scullions. 

^j^^jIjj^ 867. Q. How does garlic differ from the onion ? 

A. The garlic bulb, which is pungent and strong in flavor, is a com- 
pound one, comprised of six or more cloves within a membranous skin 
or envelope, generally white or rose color. It is propagated by cloves 
producetl on the top of high seed stalks after the style of the Top onion. 

Leek. ^^^- Q- What is the distinction between a leek and an onion ? 

A. An onion is bred to develop the edible portion as a round or a flat 
bulb, but in a leek the plant has been bred to develop numerous thick 
leaves, enveloping one another at the base and for a considerable distance 
above it, forming a thick fleshy neck of edible quality. The leok pro- 
duces black seed similar to onion seed. 

Com, gQ9 Q. Is White Flint corn of any use except for hominy purposes ? 

White Flint. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 141 

A. Very valuable for making a white meal ; also excellent for stable 
use as a feed corn. It is a sort early, hard, a good ripener and a fine 
keeping variety. All Flint corns are very nutritious, as they contain 
much oil. 

870. Q. How late can I plant Sugar corn with a reasonable certainty of Sugar Corn, 
making a crop of roasting ears — and what is the best variety for this pur- ^**® Planting 
pose? We have frost October 15th to 20th. 

A. The special variety known as Landreths' Sugar corn will mature 
when planted in the Spring in about eighty days from germination ; but 
sown for an autumn crop it does not develop so rapidly, as the rainfall 
and temperature of the nights are not so forcing, the plant taking quite 
ten or fifteen days more to develop edible ears. In May and June 
Spring-planted corn grows with great rapidity, but under the cooler 
nights of September it almost stops growing at night, while early in the 
year an early crop does nearly all its growing at night. Therefore, to 
ripen for table by the 15th of October, it will be necessary to plant about 
the 15th of July. A quicker but smaller sort is the Crosby, which might 
be planted as late as the 25th of July. 

871. Q. Which is the flower of Indian corn, that on top of the stalk or Tassel 
that on the end of the ear ? of Com. 

A. Both. That on the top of the stalk, called the tassel, is the male 
flower ; that at the end of the ear called the silk, is the female. This 
latter is composed of filaments or long silky hairs extending from each 
grain to the outside of the husk of the ear. Some of these threads are often 
eighteen inches long. Each thread or hair has an opening or a mouth to 
receive the invisible pollen from the male, and unless each thread so re- 
ceives a grain of pollen no seed possessing a vital germ or full-size will 
develop on the spot to which the thread is attached. It is estimated that 
the male flowers oTcorn are so fertile in pollen as to produce nine thou- 
sand pollen grains to each thread of silk — yet only one grain is needed to 
each thread. 

872. Q. I am too far away from a big town to obtain large quantities Stable 
of stable manure, and inquire if I can manufacture anything to take its Manure. 
place ? 

A. Yes ; keep pigs. Keep them in pens, numerous pens, that they can 
be changed from one to the other ; those adjoining a barnyard not too big, 
say 30 by 90 feet, with an adjoining field of one to two acres, in whicii 
they can run in occasionally for exercise, and while the pens and yards are 
being cleaned. Do not let them run wild, but keep them in closely de- 
fined enclosures. Into the barnyard, which should be dished to the 
centre to hold water, dump all kinds of manure making material, as 
straw, corn fodder, weeds, leaves from the woods, swamp muck, saw- 
dust, anything that will decompose or hold fertilizing liquids. Do not 
let any of the manurial juices run away. Into the yard dump materials 
hauled in so that the pigs will tramp them down and root them over and 
over. Frequently fork them over, and at the end of six months it will be 



142 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Banners in 
I'eas and 
Beans. 



surprising how much exceedingly valuable material has been accumu- 
lated, Experience on Virginia plantations, so located that stable manure 
cannot be obtained, prompts these remarks, as 150 pigs kept in three 
barnyards have annually produced an immense quantity of exceedingly 
valuable manure. The value of the meat of the pigs should more than 
pay for their feed, the manure being all profit. Of course such a piggery 
should be kept distant from the farmer's dwelling on account of ofiensive 
smells and flies. 

873. Q. Wliat causes runners in peas and beans? 

A. Sometimes perfectly true types of peas and beans will send up what 
appear to be running tendrils, or will produce what appear to be late 
vines, both due to the accidental location of some seeds over lumps of 
manure, or due to the conditions of deep or shallow rooting, or to a rainy 
season, all these being purely accidental fluctuations in the apparent 
character of the stock. Runners, however, are generally due to an unse- 
lected stock, to a bad strain of blood. All peas and beans, if neglected, 
•will become partially wild or rampant. They can only be kept Avilhin 
prescribed limits by constantly throwing out all vines in which any indi- 
cation of a departure from the true type is observable. A disposition to 
grow wild is inherent in all types of peas and beans, just as it is in the 
human system ; and when not checked by selection, that disposition 
develops so rapidly as to completely change the character of the stock in 
three or four years. 
Germination. 874. Q. In planting garden seeds of various kinds I sometimes find that 
seed from the same package planted at difi"erent dates gives varying 
results as to the number of seeds that sprout. Can you account for this? 

A. If the seed is from the same package and the germinating qualities 
seem diO'erent, it is obviously due to soil, or to atmospheric conditions, or 
to 3'^our system of treatment of either soil or seed. For example : If, 
after preparing the land in one instance, the seed is sown at once in the 
damp soil, it is likely to sprout at once ; but if in the other instance after 
the land is prepared it be left to dry and bake from one to two days, or a 
week or more, before sowing, then the seed will be slow to germinate, if 
indeed it does not fail altogether. 

875. Q. What soil is adapted to bean culture? 
A. It is an old saying that any field is good enough for beans, but that 

is a mistake, for this crop profits as much by sowing on good soil as any 
other. On strong soils the crop sometimes reaches thirty bushels of dry 
seeds to the acre, but often on thin soils not more than six or seven. 

876. Q. You sent me last mouth a lot of Golden Wax beans with very 
little white upon the dry seeds. Now I get another lot from you nearly 
all white. Can they both be true ? 

A. Yes ; they may diff^er very much in the extent of coloring on the 
dry seed and yet both be equally good when in edible pod. In fact, 
there may be a half-dozen degrees of coloring in as many lots, due par- 
tially to the stock seeds planted, but principally to the soil on which they 



Bean Soil. 



Variation 
in Beans. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 143 

were grown. Red Valentine beans differ also in degrees of color and in 
shape and plumpness, as some are grown on heavy soil, others on light 
sand ; some as an early crop, others as a late crop ; yet all may be 
equally early and good in quality of edible pod. If there is any choice 
between lots of Red Valentine beans the small misshapen ones are the 
best, without respect to the depth of coloring. 

877. Q. How is it that two lots of Bloomsdale Ruta Baga seed received Size of Seeds, 
from you art intervals of ten days were quite different in color and size of 

seed? 

A. We grow our Ruta Baga seed on many different fields, some being 
sand and gravel, others clay, and these in three different States, conse- 
quently the crops are ripened at different periods and exposed to variable 
fluctuations of soil conditions and more or less heat and rain. No sane 
man could expect that such seeds could be of uniform color, or plump- 
ness, or indeed appear to be the same thing. The grade or quality of all 
is the same as all are grown from pedigree roots. 

878. Q. Does pollination in the case of garden vegetables occur with Pollination. 
equal certainty both in Northern and Southern climates ? 

A. It is only absolutely certain, that is, certain up to the normal degree, 
in climates of intermediate temperature and conditions. Burning heats 
or extended droughts of tropical countries interfere partially with the 
process, so also do cool to cold nights of Northern latitudes. Under ex- 
cessive and long-continued heat the stamens and pistils dry up prema- 
turely, and under conditions of too low a temperature at nights they do 
not develop to such a degree as in districts where the nights are hot. 
There the pollen is produced in perfection, and is so light that pollination 
is certain to occur. 

879. Q. My section in Indiana has always been celebrated for the excel- Flavor in 
lent flavor of its cantaloupes, but this year no melons for twenty miles Cantaloupes, 
around me have the usual good taste. Can you explain this? 

A. Nothing unusual in this ; it often happens, but it is hard to explain. 
Probably due to a want of sunshine, or too much rain, too much drought, 
or to some unusual climatic influence unexplainable. It may not occur 
again for years, but just such conditions are certain to be experienced in 
time by all melon growers. 

880. Q. Can watercress be grown in the absence of a running stream of-^jjj.ej.gj.esB. 
water. If so please give me directions ? 

A. Yes ; it is often grown during Winter in vegetable forcing houses. 
It requires a moist atmosphere and lots of watering, and must be grown 
in a cool shady position. To start the seed it should be sown in pans or 
trays, and after the plants are two inches high pricked out at four inches 
apart. The watercress belongs to the nasturtium family. Under glass, 
or in a garden, watercress never reaches the vigor of plants grown in a 
running stream. 

881. Q. Why do radishes sometimes become pithy and tough ? Radishes. 
A. Radishes well grown are grown quickly, and under those circum- 



144 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Transplant 
ing. 



stances never become pithy and toujih till they reach a size undesirable 
for table use. It is a mistake to wait for radishes to grow big, they should 
be eaten small, when a little over one-half an inch in diameter ; then they 
are bright, crisp, of good flavor and attractive. On poor, hard soil, or soil 
infested with grub worms or fungi, they never can be expected to grow 
fast nor to be good, either large or small. 
StartingSeeds 882. Q. IIow can I best start my seeds in the house to be afterwards 
*"«>'' removed to the garden ? 

Subsequent ^ When it is desired to liasten the development of plants, they may be 
sown in the conservatory or in boxes wilhin the house. Those who have 
greenhouses hardly need directions, but for those who have had less ex- 
perience we drop the following hints : 

Procure shallow boxes, trays, or broad pots from two to four inches 
deep. The bottoms open for the free passage of water, else the earth will 
bake and become sour. Seeds will not germinate satisfactorily or thrive 
in a wet soil. 

Prepare a mixture of one-third leaf mold cut fine, one-third clean sand, 
and one-third finely pulverized stable manure, moisten the mixture 
thoroughly, and fill into the boxes to within a half-inch of the top — gently 
patting down the surface to a level. Upon this distribute the seed, and 
cover just out of sight, by sifling over the seed the finest dust procurable, 
settling the seed down with a fine spray of water shaken from a brush, a 
heavier application baking the feurface. 

Place the boxes where they will remain at a temperature of between 
60° and 70°, applying water with a brush or fine rose when the surface 
becomes dry. 

When the seedlings are half an inch high, they may be transplanted to 
other boxes, placing the tiny plants about one to each square inch. When 
these become so large as to crowd eacli other, they should again be trans- 
planted to the garden, or to other boxes according to the season. 

883. Q. Give me some directions about sowing flower seeds in my 
Flower Seeds, garden ? 

A. Flower seeds being usually small and delicate, the land to receive 
them must necessarily be carefully prepared, otherwise the cost of pur- 
chase and labor of sowing will be expended in vain. Large stones, clods, 
and other material out of place, should be removed after the earth has 
been deeply dug and fertilized ; but the earth should not be made so fine 
as to become pasty under moisture. 

The best results will generally be obtained by the beginner by concen- 
trating the crop, or sovving all the varieties in one plot or bed, or a portion 
of ground, whatever its size may be, sufiiciently large to hold all sorts 
placed in parallel rows at one foot apart, and this concentrated plantation 
can be carefully weeded, and otherwise attended to during the early stages 
of growth. 

Afterwards, when one or two inches high, the young plants can be 
removed, on a rainy or cloudy, damp day, to permanent positions ; here 



Sowing 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 145 

the earth must be carefully prepared for their reception, being especially- 
enriched by a previous application of very short, well-rotted stable manure 
or compost. 

In the after-culture the most important matter ia to keep the clumps 
well thinned, for crowding will defeat all other preparations, while space, 
which at first seems four times too much, will serve to develop robust 
plants, which, by their ample leafage and well-developed flowers, will 
amaze people not familiar with the conditions necessary to successful 
plant culture. 
884. Q. How far North are garden vegetables cultivated. Far North 

A. Some time ago The Philadelphia Becord newspaper company sent Gardens. 
an expedition to Alaska, and among the reports was the following : Upon 
arriving at Sitka, nearly 5000 miles away from Philadelphia, and in lati- 
tude 57 degrees, as far north as the highest part of Labrador, the Record 
men strolled along Lincoln street, which is Sitka's only business thor- 
oughfare, and read on one of the most prominent signs in that place that 
Landreths' Extra Early Peas were on sale within. 

t"85. Q. Are not some of the descriptions of vegetables offered by some _ 

, ,.,, . ,.. Extravagant 

seed merchants very highly extravagant m word pamtmg? Advertising. 

A. The Rural New Yorker, in its issue of July 9, 1893, thus refers to a 
new variety of cabbage : " Here is a new variety of cabbage, which, if 
our readers have any faith in the first announcement of its presentation to 
the public, may excite general interest. We print the advertisement as 
received, omitting only the name of the introducing firm : 

" ' The Extravaganza Cabbage (Munchausen Stock). Of all the varie- 
ties of cabbage which have ever been offered since the world was made, 
especially those described in the picture seed catalogues of the present 
day, no sort ever equaled this cabbage for every good quality which 
trenchant words can express, or the fertile mind conceive, and we would 
say no cabbage of the future can possibly ever equal it, had we not a 
variety lying back to introduce next year which we are going to advertise 
as infinitely the superior of the Extravaganza, and we expect every year 
to have a still better one than the year preceding. 

" 'We are getting up a picture of the Extravaganza, which, by com- 
parison with other well-known objects purposely placed near it, will show 
that this cabbage is as big as a tobacco hogshead, and the description 
which will accompany the picture will prove, if words have any power, 
that its flavor is as sweet as sugar, its texture as fine as satin, and its habit 
exceedingly early or so rarely late, or so something else, as to eclipse 
every cabbage ever before known, and, above all, its freedom from the 
attacks of insects is phenomenally remarkable : indeed, an insect which 
simply flies over it falls dead within twenty yards. To the market gar- 
dener it is a boon, as it sells itself, its laughing face beaming with such 
benevolent expression as to win the admiration of every purchaser at 
once.' " 

886. Q. Will it pay to grow turnips especially for feeding to cattle ? Tnmips for 

Cattle Food, 



146 QUERIES AXD ANSWER3. 

A. "In this country the turnip and the ruta baga, or 'Swede,' as it is 
familiarly called, is more generally cultivated for stock-food than any 
other root — not that it is the best, but because it can be so readily grown, 
and at small cost. "While beets, mangolds, carrots, kohl rabbi and parsnip 
demand an entire season to mature, the turnip is of so quick growth in 
our climate, that within a few weeks only after sowing abundant supplies 
may be in hand. 

"The writer cannot, however, but maintain that, though at some 
increase of labor in the production, no expenditure on the farm may, iu 
the long run, pay better than an annual crop of mangolds and carrots, 
even if raised only in sufficient quantity to alternate with the ruta baga, 
fend thus the food be varied ; a change which the milch cow, the stall-fed 
ox and the sheep crave equally with man 

" Nothing we know of is so efficient, considering the small cost of time 
and money. Seventy to eighty days will make the crop, and at a cost 
not exceeding three dollars per acre. The preparation of the soil and 
climatic adaptation of the locality is an important prerequisite to success, 
both as respects the productiveness of the crop, and its cost, for it is mani- 
fest that, however valuable and desirable may be any object we seek, the 
cost of obtaining it may be disproportionate to its value ; such is especially 
the case with all products of the soil." — Landreth Farm Notes. 
Hay Mens- 887. Q. Give me a rule by which I can measure or estimate the weight 
urement. ofhayinamow? 

A. nay in a mow ten feet drop, put in in good order, and not too ripe 
when cut, ought to average one ton to each 525 cubic feet. The com- 
pression increases rapidly as the height increases, and a mow of the same 
hay, fifteen feet drop, would probably turn out a ton to 475 cubic feet, if 
not even to 425 feet. All such guessing, however, is very hazardous, and 
it is always safer to buy or sell only by actual weight. 
norse-Radisli 888. Q. To get horseradish must I SOW seed or get roots ? 

A. This plant, seldom producing seed, is propagated from sets cut from 
old roots, and in market garden culture nearly always planted as a suc- 
cession to a Spring crop which by time of removal leaves the horse-radish 
well established. The sets are planted in rows of about two feet by eigh- 
teen inches frequently among Spring cabbage. Holes are made with a long 
planting stick into which are dropped the horse-radish sets to a depth that 
the crown will be three inches under the surface. It will only succeed in 
highly fertilized land, and each year should be planted afresh. In garden 
culture the sets are sometimes planted in the upper end of round drain 
tiles sunk into the ground and filled with earth, the radish roots being thus 
directed straight downwards. Yield about 150 bushels to the acre. Sets, 
per doz., 15 cts. ; per 100, 50 cts ; per 1000, $4. 
Cheap Seeds. 889. Q. What do you mean by cheap seeds ? What are they ? 

A. Sometimes they may be passable, but nine times out of ten they are 
worthless. They are cheap because grown purely as speculative crops, 
grown generally from seed stocks, cheap and bad to commence with, and 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 147 

the crop resulting left to bloom and seed without the removal of hybrid 
or cross-bred forms, thus the mixed blood of the parent stock is developed 
to an increased percentage in the offspring. 

The papers of the day are now discussing investigations and develop, 
ments respecting adulterations of drugs, but the frauds cannot exceed in 
extent those practiced in some quarters by the seed trade. So great was 
tlie adulteration of seeds in England that Parliament passed an Act a few 
years ago fixing heavy penalties for such frauds, but they still continue, 
and are common in every country of Europe. 

The least objectionable fraud is the process of cheapening prices by 
mixing into new crops a proportion of old seeds heated till all vitality is 
destroyed — such mixed stock will vegetate only to the extent of 50 per 
cent., often much less. 

The vitality or germinating power of seeds is not, however, the most 
important question to the gardener, for if seeds fail to sprout the first cost 
is the principal loss. The quality of the vegetables seeds may produce, 
is the all important question, and that can only be determined when, per- 
haps, it is too late in the season to remedy an imposition. 

Better every grain should be dead than mixed or hybridized. The 
critical gardener considers well before he makes his purchases, and to 
the experienced planter nothing is so suspicious as " cheap seeds " 

890. Q. Tell me something about watermelon culture? _. ^ 

-rrr , , i, , Watermelons 

A. Watermelons do well upon sod ground, or upon land prepared for 

their reception by plowing down a crop of Winter wheat or Winter rye, 

the sod or grain aerating or keeping loose the soil. When the apple is in 

bloom the seed is planted in hills at ten feet apart in each direction. Two 

large shovelsful of well-rotted stable manure dug and tramped into each 

hill and covered with earth. 

The cultivator should be prepared with quite four pounds of seed to the 
acre that he may have a reserve for replanting in case of destruction of 
his plants by insect depredations or beating rains. 

One vine alone to the hill should be allowed to attain perfection ; with 
four hundred and fifty hills to the acre, there should be nine hundred 
first-class melons. 

Philadelphia commission merchants pay for prime melons, as a highest 
price, forty dollars per hundred ; as an average price ten dollars per 
hundred. They cease to be profitable to the trucker when bringing less 
than four dollars per hundred. First-class melons are always in demand, 
but the market is frequently overstocked with small fruit. 

Much of the melon seed offered throughout the country is the product 
of immature and deformed melons remaining in the field after all the 
choice fruit has been selected. 

891. Q. What is the cost of bisulphide of carbon ? Carbon 

A. Any druggist can obtain it and sell it at a price of about 15 cents ^***^i*'"*'«' 
per pound, and it can be had in tin cans of five, ten or twenty pounds 
each. It is explosive and very injurious to breathe. 



148 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Garden Plan. 892. Q. I have a pieco of land 150 feet long, about one-sixth of an acre, 
and would like you to send me a diagram plan for laying it out. 

A. The varieties and quantities here named will cost about $1 1.75. The 
rows are arranged so as to be worked by horse cultivator. The six-foot 
bed of small vegetables will have to be worked by hand. 

WIDTU 48 FEET. 



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DISTANCE OF KOWS APART IN FEET. 



Cantalonpes. 803. Q. IIow are citrons planted in Jersey ? 

A. Cantaloupes or citron melons, as they are termed la Jersey, do well 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 149 

upon sod ground or upon land prepared for planting by plowing down a 
crop of Winter wheat or Winter rye, the sod or grass aerating or keeping 
loose the soil. Two ounces of seed to 100 yards of row. 

The seed is planted at about corn-seeding time or when the apple is in 
bloom, in hills about four-and-a-half feet in each direction. Twoshovels- 
ful of well-rotted stable manure being tramped into each hill and covered 
with earth. The large long melons like the Reedland Giant and Casaba 
are generally sold by the hundred ; melons of the ordinary form and size 
are sold by the basket of one-half to five-eighths bushel capacity. 

Philadelphia commission merchants pay as a higiiest price $1.50 to $2.00 
per bushel. As an average price forty to fifty cents per bushel. Canta- 
loupe melons are frequently a drug in the market. 

894. Q. Why did you say seed purchasing was a matter of confidence ?(,,,„gjgm.gj^ 
A. Because it is so. Tlie man who buys dry goods or groceries, corn or Seed 

cotton, can, to a very considerable extent, judge of the quality and value of **"«'chasing. 
the article. This is not the case with seeds. Simply because a dealer says 
a certain cabbage seed beholds in his hand is Large Late Flat Dutch, it does 
not follow that it is so. He may have been deceived himself. No one 
can tell till valuable time and labor have been expended on the crop. No 
otlier commodity but drugs is so entirely a matter of confidence. It be- 
hooves every one to get their supplies from dealers of recognized repute, 
men who have a reputation at stake. Cheapness at once is sufficient to 
raise a doubt both as to vitality and quality. Good seeds have a value — 
they cannot be cheap in the common acceptation of the word. The rather 
inelegant thougb expressive phrase, " cheap and nasty," applies to seeds 
more than to any other commodity. 

895. Q. What is darnell V Darnell. 
A. It is Cheat or Chess, a plant somewhat of the appearance of wheat, 

but never, as some people think, developing from wheat. Darnel is 
hardier than wheat, which sometimes when Winter killed is succeeded by 
darnell, and ignorant people think that the wheat has turned to darnell. 
Cheat whenever grown under a heavy crop of wheat never reaches over 
a few inches in height, and is not noticed, but when given a chance by 
the Winter killing of the wheat rises to a height of one to two feet. 

896. Q. Will you furnish me a table showing the relative periods of Maturity of 
maturity of different sorts of peas ? Peas. 

A. In our trial grounds the past season we tested 135 samples of peas 
from various sources, comprising nearly every variety at home and 
abroad of any note. Twenty feet of row was given to each trial. All 
were planted the same day, and upon equal conditions in every respect. 
The stocks of each were tlie best obtainable. Landrelhs' Extra Early were 
the first to bloom and first to ripen for the table, fifty days from sowing, 
or forty-seven days from germination. This variety has, under other 
conditions of heat and rainfall, ripened for table thirty eight days from 
germination. It has been in cultivation by us for over sixty years, and 
has never been excelled in earliness or delicacy of flavor. All the Eng- 



150 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



lish varieties proved of deficient vitality, while the American stock again 
illustrated the fecundity of seeds ripened under our more tropical sun. 
We give below a report of our tests last Spring, the varieties classified in 
order of maturity : 



Maturity 
of Peas. 



10 

11 

12 

13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 



Landreths' Extra Early 

Alpha 

Kentish Invicta 

Caractacus 

Ringleader 

William 1st 

Dickson's First and Best. . . 

American Wonder 

Carter's First Crop 

Tom Thumb 

Advancer 

Carter's Early Dwarf 

Blue Peter 

Premium Gem 

Challenger 

Pride of the Market 

Daniel O'Rourke 

Tall Sugar 

Eugenie 

Dwarf Sugar 

Sharp's Invincible 

Stratagem 

Bijou 

Telegraph 

Laxton's Supplanter 

Sunrise 

Market Favorite 

Fill-Basket 

Dwarf Blue Imperial 

McLean's Wonderful 

Forty-Fold 

Champion 

Hero 

Telephone 

McLean's Dwarf Prolific. . , 
Bishop's Dwarf Long Pod , 

Laxton's Supreme 

Irish White Marrows 

Veitch's Perfection 

Dickson's Favorite 

Black Eye 

Cnlverwell's Giant Marrow 

Marvel 

Huntingdonian 

Jolin Bull 

Veitch's British Queen. . . . 
Emperor of Marrows 



April 25 



June 13 
15 
16 
18 
18 
18 
18 
19 
20 
20 
22 
22 
23 
23 
23 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
26 
28 
29 
30 
1 
1 



July 



10 
12 
14 



NO. OP 

Days. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 151 

897. Q. Do the Landreths grow garden seeds on more than one farm? tandreth 
A. The Landreths court investigation— they have nothing to hide. Farms. 

No seed merchants in America cultivate upon their own lands, quarter as 
many acres annually as they do, in cabbage, turnip, Summer radish, 
Winter radish, beets, egg plants, kale, parsnip, pepper, spinach, tomato, 
onion sets, and seeds of many other families of vegetables. 
The Landreth seed farms owned in fee simple by the firm are : 

Bloomsdale . . . 500 acres. Reedland . . . 146 acres. 

Monaskon . . . SSS acres. Granville . . . 47S acres. 

And rented from the estate of David Landreth : 

Georges . . 78 acres. Hunton's . . 185 acres. Bellemont . . SOD acres. 

On these particular farms, in Summer, are sometimes employed a force 
of two hundred hands, and in harvest time the force is increased to four 
hundred and fifty hands. 

898. Q. What is meant by Pedigree Seeds ? Pedigree 
A. Strong believers in heredity endeavor to grow from seed of fixed Seeds. 

habit. Intensely careful selections of many years have established types 
which are almost fixed, and are called " Pedigree Seeds." 

Heredity is most fixed when plants are cultivated upon the soil and 
under the climatic surroundings of their place of origin, while on the 
other hand, very radical departures are made when the same plants are 
grown under changed conditions of soil and climate. This is noticed in 
the enlarged and coarse development of cabbage grown in Oregon or 
California from Pennsylvania seed, or in the deterioration of the edible 
qualities of watermelons grown in the South from New Jersey seed. Any 
Eastern seed taken to the Pacific slope will, in a few years, so depart from 
its original type as to be hardly recognizable under its original name. 
The most marked efifect of soil and climate is on some of the vegetables of 
Japan, many of which are products of Landreths' seed sent to Japan by the 
United States Patent Office on the occasion of the expedition of Commo- 
dore Perry to Japan in 1847. Those seeds were the first of the kind ever 
introduced into that empire. We have since received and tested many 
Japanese seeds of vegetables bearing what we have taken to be a trace 
of the origmal American parentage. 

As respects heredity and the art of crossing two or more varieties whose 
superior qualities, if united, would be desirable, much has been accom- 
plished, and in the future various astonishing results will, no doubt, be 
developed, for the number of hybridizers, all working out diflferent lines, 
will certainly produce a multitude of interesting results. While the 
greater part, however, of so called new sorts are the results of chance 
admixture in the field, the seed grower is now ceasing to be a mere plodder- 
on in the steps of his ancestors, but is entering into his work physiologi- 
cally, if not scientifically, and the work of the hybridizer is now so 
multiplying varieties and subvarieties as to confound the unintelligent 
seed planter. While the meritorious alone will stand the test and be per- 



152 QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 

petualed, other inferior subtypes will be bflfered under most extolled de- 
scriptions never to be heard of again. The best opportunities for hybrid- 
izing are in the union of domestic plants with others of like nature from 
remote sections of the world, resulting in most striking development, and 
generally most healthful constitutional qualities. 
Transplant- ^^^' Q' I l^^^e some evergreen trees to transplant. When can I do it 
iiig Trees. best ? 

A. Trees holding their leaves all Winter, hence termed evergreens, are 
best planted in August and September ; the earth then beneath the sur- 
face may be likened to a hotbed, so charged is it with heat, while the 
Autumn rains moisten the surface and stimulate root growth. Plants 
under these circumstances rapidly develop fibres which soon are able to 
compensate, by the moisture which they take up, for the evaporation by 
the leaves. The planting of such trees deferred till Spring often results 
in failure, as the evaporation is then greater, and to an increasing extent 
as the Spring develops, while the soil is cold and root formation slow. 
Testing Seeds ^^- Q- ^^ J^^ ^®^* ^^^ your seeds for quality ? 

A. The Bloomsdale and Reedland testing grounds comprise various 
plots of over nine acres of land. One acre is devoted to vegetables grown 
from small seeds, as radish, lettuce, beet, carrot, onion ; all sown in rows 
across the breadth of parallel beds eight feet wide with three feet alleys 
between. On these beds are many hundreds of tests. 

Another acre is devoted to trials of peas and beans all drilled in par- 
allel rows, twenty feet of each variety, and all in the order of maturity as 
near as it can be arrived at. These peas and beans are thinned to three 
inclies apart to permit periect development, that the character may be in- 
dicated. Half an acre is devoted to sugar corn, planted in hills four by 
four feet, and in parallel rows. These tests are also arranged in order of 
maturity ; the first early sorts many of them less than three feet high, the 
late varieties eight and nine feet high. An acre is devoted to watermelons 
and cantaloupes, the testing and judging of wliich requires much experi- 
ence. One-half acre is devoted to squash. One-half acre to cucumber. 
One-half acre is devoted to cabbage. One-half acre to turnip?. Two 
acres devoted to tomatoes. This last being of very particular interest, 
comprising many hybrids or crosses of approved varieties, the best quali- 
ties of several being united in one. 

The test of insecticides being particularly interesting, more interesting 
than instructive because of the conflicting results consequent upon condi- 
tions of rainfall and heat after the application of the poisons. 

The test of ornamental flowers of annual and biennial form embellish- 
ing the whole with colors of dazzling beauty. The trial of grasses, all 
very practical ; one bed of thirty different sorts in blocks of ten by ten 
feet, having stood for five years, clearly indicating the relative periods of 
desirability of each sort. 

The seeds on trial in these experimental grounds comprise all the so- 
called novelties or varieties offered in the catalogues of the many seed 



Trial 

U rounds. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 153 

merchants of the United States, as well also as those recommended by 
foreign seed merchants and growers as adapted to the American climate. 
Ofttiraes the same vegetable appears under half a dozen distinct names 
and as distinct descriptions, only to be recognized as an old acquaintance, 
sometimes of merit, at other times a sort long turned down. It is to in- 
form ourselves upon the subject of relative merit and upon the subject 
of name that we conduct so large an experimental ground as nine acres, 
a very expensive little farm in itself, but worth ten times its cost. 

901. Q. Give some information about the egg plant. Egg Plant. 

A. This seed is generally sown under glass and transplanted to the field 
two or thnee weeks after corn-planting season. The plants are set in 
rows of five feet and at three feet in the row. The land cannot be too 
highly fertilized for this crop — very short, thoroughly rotted stable 
manure or similar preparation is best ; strong manure or hot, rank manure 
is unsuitable. 

Sow in hotbeds or other protected place early in the Spring ; when up 
two or three inches transplant into small pots (which plunge in earth) so 
as to get stocky well-rooted plants, and late in the Spring, or not till the 
commencement of Summer, unless the weather be warm, transplant into 
thoroughly worked, rich and recently well-manured ground. A good 
plan is to open a deep, wide trench, filling it nearly with manure ; restore 
the earth and plant therein, placing the plants three feet apart each way. 
The seed does not vegetate freely ; repeated sowings are sometimes neces- 
sary. It is almost useless to attempt the culture of egg plant unless the 
proper attention be given. In growing the egg plant in the Summer and 
Autumn months in Florida, great trouble is sometimes experienced in 
getting a stand of plants owing to the excessive heat and beating rains. 
This difficulty can be largely overcome by shading the ground where the 
seed is sown. If sown in beds, the shading may be accomplished by 
means of frames covered with seed-bed cloth, or by blinds of slats or 
common boards properly supported over the beds to cut off" the direct rays 
of the sun. If the seed is sown where the plants are to remain (a bad 
practice) the shading may be done by using Palmetto fans or leaves, 
placing them one each on the north and south sides of the hill, the tops 
meeting over the seed. This plan is used by some of the most successful 
growers in the Gulf States. 

About 3000 plants are required to plant an acre. These plants should 
produce an average of three to four fruits, weighing two to three pounds 
each. Our selected seeds are always taken from fruit weighing eight to 
ten pounds each ; we have had them of thirteen pounds in weight. Com- 
mission merchants in Philadelphia pay the market gardener about, on an 
average, one-and-a-half cents per fruit. The highest prices are eight and 
ten cents per fruit. 

Florida fruit arrives in Philadelphia the latter part of November, and 
commands $6 to $8 per barrel crate. Earlier in the Autumn the market 
is supplied by fruit from Jersey. Towards Christmas the price of Florida 



154 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cooking 
Kecoipta. 



Cooking 
Receipts. 



egg plant rises to $10 per barrel crate and then declines by April to $6 to $8, 
and by May to $5, after which they are likely to arrive in a damaged 
condition and be worthless. Egg plant fruit can be grated and canned 
for Winter use. 

903. Q. Please send me the directions for cooking garden vegetables 
published in your Catalogue of 1880. 

A. AsPAKAGus — Stewed. — Wash, tie in bunches and place in saucepan 
of boiling water. Cook slowly until tender. Serve with butter sauce. 

Cold. — After stewing as above directed, and when cold, serve with 
French dressing, or serve with Vinaigrette-sauce, made as follows : To 
French dressing add onions, pickles, parsley and capers, hashed and 
mixed well. 

Beans — Green Beans, String — Stewed. — Wash and cut in half, and 
put in saucepan of boiling water, add salt, cook very quickly, drain 
through a colander and refresh with cold water to keep green ; put in a 
frying pan, add butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Dried Deans — Stewed. — Soak over night in cold water ; cook slowly 
with salt pork, add an onion, cloves, salt and pepper. When cooked 
thicken with melted butter and flour. 

Baked. — Cook the beans as described above, add half gill of molasses ; 
place in a deep dish with pork ; bake in moderate oven for an hour. 

Bean Soup. — Stew with a ham bone or pork; strain through a fine 
sieve ; add a small quantity of cream and butter, and serve with fried 
bread crumbs. 

Beets— Boiled. — Wash, and boil till quite tender ; rub off the skin, 
quarter and put into a saucepan, with salt, pepper, butter and a little 
broth. Let the butter melt, and mingle well by tossing the pan. Serve 
in a covered dish. 

Pickled. — After boiling peel and quarter, refresh with cold water, cut 
in slices and put in a jar lialf full of vinegar ; add salt, spices, slices of 
onion, whole pepper, a laurel leaf and horse radish cut in small piecea 
Keep covered. 

Bkoccoli — Boiled. — Boil in salt water until tender, and refreshing 
thoroughly put into a saucepan with light butter sauce, with salt, pepper 
and nutmeg. Place upon fire for a few moments and serve hot with a 
little chopped parsley. Cauliflower and brussels sprouts may be treated 
in the same manner. 

Brussels Sphouts— Stewed. — Place in saucepan of boiling water, add 
salt, cook very quickly, put them in a colander and refresh with cold 
water, put in a frying-pan, add butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve 
hot with a garnish of chopped parsley. They can also be served with a 
light cream sauce. 

C Aim \OE— Boiled. — Carefully prepare and cut in quarters ; put on the 
fire with plenty of water, and boil, refresh and cook either with ham, 
corn beef or saltpork. Cook slowly until tender and serve with meat. 

Fried. — Use only fresh cabbage. Remove the outer green leaves, 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 155 

divide in quarters ; cut out any hard core ; -wash carefully ; parboil Cooking 
twenty-five minutes, press the water out and cool. Cut in small pieces, Receipts. 
place in a saucepan and put in salt and pepper and fry to a light brown. 

Pickled. — Cut raw cabbage very fine, add salt, pepper and mustard 
seed • add boiling vinegar with onion and green pepper cut very fine. 
Cover carefully. 

Coleslaw. — Cut cabbage very fine, and serve with French dressing. 

Sauer Kraut. — Use only solid heads shred very finely ; take a small 
water-tight lieg and line with cabbage leaves, sprinkling one-eighth of an 
inch salt upon the bottom ; upon this place three inches of shredded cab- 
bage, which cover with three tablespoonsful of salt well pressed down, 
then another layer of cabbage and salt, until keg is full, when hammer 
down with force. Small portions of herbs, chopped peppers and onions 
are often added. On top of the upper layer of cabbage place a circular 
head of less diameter than the keg, on which fix a heavy weight. When 
fermentation begins skim off the scum, keeping the cover always in place. 
To serve sauer kraut wash it well in warm water and drain thoroughly, 
garnish the edges of the dish with carrots, onions, a bouquet of herbs, 
some chicken or goose grease, and put the sauer kraut on top, adding salt 
pork, sausage, or piece of bacon in the middle ; add salt, pepper, a glass 
of white wine and a couple of apples cut very thin, a pint of broth, cover 
and let cook for two hours. Serve hot. 

Cauliflower — Boiled. — Wash, place in a vessel with cold water and 
boil, empty, refresh, and boil again ; when nearly done, drain and add a 
small quantity of milk and butter, and cook until tender. Serve hot with 
cream and butter sauce. 

Au Oratin. — Boil as directed above. Place tablespoonful of butter in 
frying pan, when melted add teaspoonful of flour, mix thoroughly and 
add one-half pint of milk ; stir continually until it boils, when add one- 
half teaspoonful of salt and four tablespoonsful of grated cheese, Parmesan 
is best, pour this over the boiled cauliflower, sprinkle a little bread crumbs 
and bake in a moderate oven until lieht brown and serve hot. 

Baked. — After cooking as described above, place the cauliflower in a 
baking dish, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cream sauce, bread crumbs, and a 
littte grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese and small pieces of butter. Place 
in a hot oven and bake until it has a brown color. 

Cold. — Cauliflower can also be served cold with French dressing. 

Carrot — Stewed. — Peel and slice, put in a saucepan with a little broth. Cooking 
water, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Boil an hour. Thicken with butter **««**p*s. 
kneaded with flour, mix well and boil. Finish with butter, teaspoonful 
sugar and chopped parsley. Serve hot. 

In Cream. — Wash and scrape the outside, cut in small pieces, boil until 
tender, refresh and boil again. Serve hot with cream sauce. 

Celery — Steiced. — Trim oflF all defective parts and wash thoroughly. 
Parboil five minutes or until tender and drain through a cloth. Cut 
stems all same length and put in a stew-pan, with salt, pepper, butter, 



156 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cookinf; 
Ueceipts. 



Cooking 
Iteceipts. 



and white broth to cover ; let simmer for an hour. Drain the celery 
through a sieve or cloth, saving the liquor, to which add Espagnole sauce. 
Skim the fat so as to form a sauce, press thoroughly through a napkin ; 
place the celery on a dish and pour over the sauce. 

Espagnole Sauce. — Take half pound clarified butter, add one pound 
flour ; roast very light brown. Add onions, carrots, a bouquet of herbs, 
allspice, a knuckle of veal and a ham bone. Let simmer slowly in sauce- 
pan, then moisten with three quarts of stock to a thin light sauce. Let 
cook for three hours slowly. Skim off the grease ; then strain the sauce, 
and reduce with sherry or white wine, according to taste. 

Salad. — Use the hard roots as well as stems. After washing well cut 
the stems, both blanched and green, into small pieces. Serve with 
French or Mayonaise dressing. 

Corn — Boiled. — Wash and boil in plenty of water with a small quantity 
of milk ; cook for twenty minutes. 

Fritters. — Grate corn raw or cooked. For dressing take one pint of 
milk, four eggs, two teaspoonsful of baking powder, half pound of flour, 
salt, pepper, sugar, beat into light batter. Fry on both sides in pan with 
hot lard, one tablespoonful of batter to each fritter. 

Pudding. — Place half pound of Indian meal in three pints of boiling 
milk lightly sugared. Cook for twenty minutes, add molasses, six raw 
eggs, and spices, mix well together. Put in a baking dish and bake in a 
moderate oven. Serve with vanilla or other flavored sauce. 

Cucumber — Salad. — Peel and cut in very thin slices and soak in salt 
water for two hours. Strain till very dry. Serve with French dressing. 

Sliced — Pickled. — Peel and slice fresh cucumbers and put in a pan and 
let stand with plenty of salt to draw the water. Press dry and put them 
in a jar, pour over cold boiled vinegar. Add salt, pepper and a few 
slices of onions. 

Egg Plant— Fried. — Peel the fruit and cut crosswise in slices of full 
diameter and of one-third of an inch in thickness, sprinkle salt between 
the slices and set aside for a half hour, when remove the water, dry and 
dip in butter and bread crumbs and fry in hot lard until brown. 

Baked. — Peel the fruit and cut into small pieces. Place in a pan with 
butter and sweet oil over a fire for three minutes, add salt, pepper, and a 
little sauce or gravy. Take it from the pan and put in a baking dish, 
coat over with bread crumbs and Swiss cheese and bake in oven tdll quite 
brown. 

Kohl-Rabi — Boiled.— Hemoye the skin, cut in quarters. Boil in salted 
water with a little butter, drain, put in a saucepan with melted butter, 
stir a few moments over the fire and add Espagnole sauce with salt, pep- 
per, butter ; mix well and serve in a deep dish. 

MusHUOOMS— (Siewerf.— Wash thoroughly, peel and cut oflF injured 
parts. Place in porcelain stewing pan with salt, pepper and butter, and 
two teaspoonsful of salt water, stew for eight minutes. Serve on toast. 

Baked.— Clean thoroughly, remove the stems and fill the cavities with 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 157 

Stuffing composed of onion, tomato, parsley, chopped very fine. Add Cooking 
salt and pepper, put in a saucepan with butter, stew for twenty minutes. Receipts. 
Add crumbs of bread and thicken, fill the patties and spread crumbs upon 
the top. Bake in a moderate oven a few minutes and serve with brown 
sauce. 

Onion — Stewed. — Remove the coarse skin, cut in slices and put in 
saucepan with fresh butter and let simmer until a light brown, add some 
Espagnole and a little Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cover and 
cook for twenty minutes. 

Baked. — Select largest and most perfect onions and boil for an hour. 
Peel off outer portion and put each onion in a buttered stew pan with 
Espagnole sauce and broth ; sprinkle a little sugar and put a small piece 
of butter on each onion. Place a buttered paper on the dish and bake in 
a moderate oven. 

Fried. — "Wash, cut in thin slices, dip in cream, add salt, pepper and 
roll in flour, fry in liot lard till crisp. 

Okra. — Boiled — "Wash and cook in cold water to a boil, refresh and 
cook again with boiling water till tender. Add butter and salt and serve 
with butter sauce. 

Stewed. — "Wash and cut oflF ends, place in stewing pan with a little 
water, boil until soft, drain, season and serve with melted butter. 

Vegetable. — Cut the okra iu small pieces, put in a pan with batter and 
sweet oil, and let it simmer lor three minutes, add tomato sauce, salt, 
pepper and small pieces ot butter. 

Soup. — The okra for soup must be tender, which condition can only be 
found when the pods are small. To prepare okra soup cut chicken into 
small pieces, boil, refresh, add okra cut in small sections, rice and toma« 
toes. Continue boiling till the chicken is quite tender, season with 
pepper and salt. 

Peas — Boiled. — Cook in salted water over quick fire until tender, re- Cookfng 
fresh, strain thoroughly, season with salt, pepper, butter and a little sugar. Receipts. 

Soup. — Use split or fresh green peas, wash and put on fire with ham 
bone, add onions, carrots, knuckle of veal. When the meat is cooked 
remove it, and strain the soup through a fine sieve, add small qiiantity of 
cream, butter, and season to taste. Serve with fried bread crumbs. 
Soup not to be too thick. 

Parsnip — Fined. — Boil until tender, remove skin, cut in slices, dip in 
butter, roll in bread crumbs, and fry dry in hot lard. 

Saute. — When boiled, cut iu slices, place in frying pan with butter, salt, 
pepper and hashed parsley. 

Pumpkin — Pie. — Peel, cut in pieces and remove seeds, put over fire 
with water and cook until tender, mash or pass through a sieve, add 
powdered sugar, cream, allspice, nutmeg, six eggs, small quantity of 
brandy, leaspoonful cooking ginger, mix well, bake in moderate oven with 
one layer of dough. 

Potato — Boiled. — Wash and cook in salt water in pot with cover. 



158 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Cooking 
Kecelpts. 



Cooking 
Receipts. 



When soft to the centre pour off all the water, and for ten minutes let 
the pot, without lid, stand on the range to get rid of moisture. 

Croquettes. — Boil peeled potatoes in salted water and put them in oven 
five minutes to dry. Turn them into a pan, add butter, salt, pepper and 
nutmeg, mash quickly, pass through a colander, return to the saucepan, 
adding four egg yolks ; put on the fire for a few minutes. Turn into a 
dish and let cool ; divide into portions the size of an egg, roll in pulver- 
ized crackers, dip in batter of beaten eggs, roll in crackers again and fry 
to a brown color in plenty of lard. 

Fried. — Peel and wash medium-sized potatoes, cut in one-eighths. Fry 
them in hot lard until cooked thoroughly and of a brown color. Drain, 
salt and dry in napkin before serving. 

Ill Cream. — Take cold boiled potatoes, cut in small pieces, put in stew- 
ing pan with cream sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg and butter, care being 
taken not to make the sauce too thick. 

Lyonaise. — Cut cold boiled potatoes in thin slices, put in frying pan, add 
butter, thin sliced onions, salt and pepper. Fry until brown. Serve 
with chopped parsley. 

Stewed. — Peel and slice cold boiled potatoes, put in a saucepan with 
milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and let boil. Add parsley and 
butter and mingle all well by tossing the saucepan until the sauce is 
creamy. Serve hot. 

Salsify — In Cream. — Boil until tender, cut into thin slices, add cream, 
or butter sauce. Season to taste and garnish with chopped parsley. 

Fried. — Trim and scrape the roots, boil until tender, drain on a cloth, 
cut the roots into pieces, one inch in length, dip in flour batter and fry 
crisp in very hot lard ; drain, salt and serve hot. 

Patties. — Trim and scrape the roots and boil in salted water whitened 
with flour ; drain and let cool ; cut in small squares or dice and put the 
pieces in a good cream sauce, with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Let 
cook for two minutes. Next, fill the patties, bake brown, and serve hot 
garnished with parsley. 

Imitation Oyster. — Trim and scrape the roots and boil until tender, in 
salted water whitened with flour; drain, and when cold mash, removing all 
fibres ; add mashed potatoes and put in a stew pan with butter. Stir them 
over the fire until very dry. Add a little salt, pepper and one or two 
yolks of eggs. When cold, form in cakes shape of oysters, roll them in 
cracker dust or bread crumbs, then in a batter of eggs and bread crumbs. 
Fry in hot lard until brown on both sides, but not greasy. Serve hot. 

Sea Kale — Stewed. — Pare the stalks, wash well and tie in bunches of 
even size. Stew for twenty minutes, or until tender, in salted water, 
thicken with flour kneaded with butter, drain on a cloth, untie, dish up 
with a buttered white sauce on a large napkin. 

Squasu — Stewed. — Peel and cut in quarter pieces, place in pot with lit- 
tle water, when cooked mash or pass through a sieve, add pepper, salt 
and butter, mix well and serve hot. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 159 

Tomato — Stewed. — Scald with boiling water to remove skin, cut in Cooking 
small pieces, removing cores, place in stewing pan with butter, salt, Receipts, 
pepper, cook for a few minutes, thicken with corn starch, or bread 
crumbs. 

Fried. — Cut in thick slices, season with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and 
fry with hot lard until brown on both sides. Serve hot. 

ToRNiP — Boiled. — Peel and cut in small pieces, boil until tender, mash, 
add salt, pepper and butter, or serve in light cream sauce without being 
mashed. 

903. Q. At what date were Garden Seeds first grown for sale in this Earliest 
country ? Seed Culture. 

A. Possibly some were grown in colonial days, but there is no record 
in existence of such culture, everything being imported so far as known. 
The first recorded seed culture was by David Landreth, of Philadelphia, 
1784, followed by John Mackejohn in 1793, by William Leeson in 1794, 
and by Bernard McMahon in 1799, all of Philadelphia. 

904. Q. Which seeds of garden vegetables are richest in albuminoids? Albuminoids. 
A. Peas and beans, vegetable casine being found in them to the extent 

of 20 to 30 per cent. In potatoes, vegetable albumen is found in large 
proportion, and in wheat, vegetable fibrin. 

905. Q. What proof is there that diversified farming is the safest to Profitable 
pursue ? Farming. 

A. The report of the United States census for 1890 shows that of the 
farms sold on foreclosure 98 per cent, were those devoted to one or two 
crops only, while on farms devoted to many crops only 2 per cent, were 
thus sold out. 

906. Q. When planting cucumber seed and other seeds of vines, how vjne seeds. 
many should be planted in a hill and how many plants left to stand ? 

A. The average number planted is six or seven, but more is better. 
Farmers' boys use the following rhyme as to corn : 

"Two for the wire worm, 
Two for the crow. 
Two for the blackbird, 
Two to grow." 

907. Q. I am thinking of laying out a lawn of about three to four acres ^awn. 
around my house, and inquire what should be the leading idea governing 

the plan? 

A. As a rule lawns are planted without any artistic or practical plan, 
and you do well to contemplate laying out the work after a defined system. 
You will do still better to employ a landscape gardener to draw a plan j ust 
as you would employ an architect to design a house. The first thing is to 
decide on the number and directions of vistas or lanes of open views from 
the windows, doors or porticos, and then stake them out and positively 
adhere to keeping these vistas open. These vistas may be three or four or 
more, giving views of distant counlry,.of hills, valleys, water or other pleas- 



160 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



American 
Seeds. 



Autumn 
Cabbage. 



liinseed Oil. 



Cotton Oil. 



Onion Sets. 



ing objects, all displeasing objects being hidden by masses of evergreen 
trees and shrubs, which should be evergreen so as to hide the displeasing 
objects inWintcr as well as in Summer. Tiie spaces between the vistas to be 
planted with trees and shrubbery, single specimens and groups. On these 
spaces mark with stakes the position of trees intended to reach full devel- 
opment, placing them far enough apart to admit full development. This 
done, fill in the spaces with other trees to make an immediate effect, but 
to be cut out as rapidly as they encroach upon those intended for full 
development. Few men have the strength of character to thin out lawn 
trees encroaching upon each other, but those who do thin out from time 
to time have shapely trees and a general effect to be admired, while the 
timid souls have only a mass of shrubbery and trees, a constant advertise- 
ment of their incapacity. 

908. Q. Is there any particular merit in the seeds of garden vegetables 
produced in the United States as compared with foreign seeds? 

A. Yes ; most assuredly. Tliey are in the first place acclimated and 
enabled to withstand our hot suns, possessing an heredity fitting them to 
American conditions— not so with seeds developed in the moist climates 
of I ranee, England or Germany; and in the second place, American seeds 
are more vital, being ripened in a dry climate, ripened in the field and not 
in a stack as are most European seeds ; and thirdly, American seeds are 
grown by the most intelligent of American farmers, men who know what 
other Americans want as to form and quality. 

909. Q. Wliat sorts of cabbage are most desirable for sowing in Sep- 
tember to carry over Winter in cold frames ? 

A. Among Pointed Heads, Select Jersey Wakefield, Landreths' Large 
York and Bloomsdale Early Market. Among Flat Heads, Reedlaud 
Early Drumliead and Early Dwarf Flat Dutch. 

910. Q. What was tlie estimated value of linseed oil pressed in the 
United States during the census year of 1890? 

A. Over twenty-three millions of dollars, the product of sixty-two 
establishments. 

911. Q. Can you inform me the estimated value of the annual manu- 
facture of tobacco, a very important agricultural product, into cigars and 
cigarettes, snuff, and smoking and chewing preparations? 

A. About two hundred million dollars. 

912. Q. Under the census report of 1890, what was the value of cotton 
seed oil and cotton cake ? 

A. The value of the two was over nineteen million dollars, the product 
of one hundred and nineteen establishments. 

913. Q. How is it that of the two lots of onion sets received from you, 
the first in September, and the other in December, the last were superior 
to the first? 

A. Sets shipped early in September are not fully cured, consequently 
they cannot be expected when packed for several days, or perhaps for two 
or three weeks, in crates or barrels, to be secure against heating and rot- 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 161 

ting. Sets, no matter when received, especially if in early Autumn, 
should always be immediately unpacked and spread out on a dry floor to 
air, and all rotten ones picked out, as one damaged one will infect many 
others. Autumn-shipped sets should be planted early as possible after 
receipt to stop loss by decay, and to gain quantity of product through an 
early start. 

914. Q. What is the matter with the musk melons this year? Every Mask Melons 
field, without respect to variety, is full of mixtures. 

A. Your question answers itself. It would be impossible for every sort 
in every field to have been grown from mixed seed. A general eflFect just 
as you describe is caused by a local condition of too much or too little 
rain, heat or sunshine, or by a general attack of insects or fungi. 

915. Q. About White Grocery beans. How are they grown and har- Beans, 
vested ? 

A. Any ordinarily good soil will grow beans if not subject to overflow. 
They, however, do best on a clover sod, supplemented by 400 or 500 
pounds per acre of good fertilizer. They can be sown by any ordinary 
grain drill, every fourth tube feeding, or can be drilled by a bean driller, 
which costs about $40. They must be cultivated and kept clear of weeds. 
The vines can be pulled by hand or podded by a bean harvester. They can 
be thrashed by a flail or by a grain thrasher. The production varies from 
ten to twenty bushels, and the price, to the farmer, varies from $1.30 to 
$2.00 per bushel. 

916. Q. You wrote that the plant referred to in our letter was an Adventnrons 
adventurous plant. What do you mean by that? Plant. 

A. Those which by accident become established in new regions. As 
a rule but few survive in the uncultivated condition more than three or 
four years. For example, after the Centennial Exhibition held in 
Philadelphia, in 1876, quite 300 new plants were observed growing in 
Fairmount Park, disseminated by seeds brought from various parts of the 
world in the straw and hay used in the packing of foreign goods, but now 
they have all disappeared. It is the same with insects, many new forma 
were observed for several years subsequent to the Exhibition, but now they 
have all disappeared. 

917. (4. Do vegetables cultivated for their roots, as carrots, beets or Growth 
turnips, make a root development immediately upon starting into growth of Koots. 
or later on in their existence? 

A. Only after complete establishment. All dicotyledonous plants have 
at first a single descending axis called a tap-root, and this must establish 
itself as a growing organism, rooted in the earth, and drawing nourish- 
ment from the soil and through its attached foliage, before it begins to 
lay up any superfluous tissue. Taproots are anchors, and the places of 
origin of minute subterranean filaments or feeders. The swelling out of 
tap-roots by the laying on of tissue is a development subsequent to a com- 
plete formation of plant existence. For example : Take a very young 
Scarlet Turnip radish and a very young Long Scarlet radish, and the first 



162 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Warranted 
Seeds. 



Cane Sugar. 



Agricultural 
Iinpleuieuts. 



Etrg Plant 
Vitality. 



has as long a root as the other, or take a Long Blood beet and a Red 
Turnip beet, and the young turnip form has a root fully as slim and long 
as the Long Blood, and sometimes under peculiar weather conditions they 
are both slow to lay up tissue and seem to be of similar habit. Just the 
same with turnips, flat sorts sometimes seeming to be going to make long 
roots. A peculiarity of the tap-roots is that it is only the point or termi- 
nal which extends, that is, the lengthening always being a continued exten- 
sion of the newly formed point, consequently a tap-root never extends 
after the point is cut off. The edible portions of the roots of beets, carrots 
and turnips are really the upper part of the tap-roots, and while naturally 
distended beyond other parts have been abnormally developed by hun- 
dreds of years' selection. 

918. Q. Do you warrant your seeds ? 

A. No ; we are not so foolish as to warrant as correct the results which 
may be developed consequent upon all sorts of mismanagement of a crop. 
All seed merchants have too many complaints of disappointments of crops 
due to unfavorable soil and atmospheric conditions, and due to ridiculously 
bad management and want of common sense, to warrant satisfactory 
results. 

919. Q. How many pounds of cane sugar were produced in the United 
States during the census year of 1890? 

A. 301,284,000 pounds of sugar, and of cane molasses, 25,409,000 gal- 
lons. The value of the sugar refined in the United States the same year 
was one hundred and twenty-three millions of dollars. 

920. Q. What is the value of the annual manufacture of agricultural 
implements in the United States? 

A Over eighty-one millions of dollars. 

921. Q. I ask if you will pardon my hasty and perhaps testy complaint 
that the egg plant seed you sold me was uuvital, for I have sprouted it as 
you suggested and find it all right? 

A. Certainly. We are pretty well broken in to groundless complaints, 
as not only the planter of seed but the merchant finds it easier to write a 
testy letter than to take the trouble to investigate. Your complaint is only 
a repetition of hundreds just as groundless. 

The most common experience in the way of foolish complaints, is the 
claim so often unreasonably made that one of a number of varieties of 
seed failed to develop as perfectly as on some previous occasion, the com- 
plainant forgetting to award praise for the ninety and nine varieties which 
gave satisfactory results. The gardeners expecting a venture in seeds to 
be far more certain than any other business speculation, notwithstanding 
that the influences bearing upon germination, plant nutrition, climatic and 
physical conditions are beyond their knowledge and control. It is the 
unreasonable claim of inexperienced and ignorant persons that if seeds do 
not grow when put into the ground it is always because they are bad. 
Now, this is a silly charge, for good seeds may in whole or part fail to 
grow for very many reasons or causes; as, for instance, improper or in" 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 163 

sufficient preparation of the ground, unseasonable time of sowing, sowing 
too deep or too shallow, insufficient moisture, excess of moisture, cold, 
heat, depredations of insects under or above the surface, unfavorable 
conditions of climate or atmosphere, deficiency or excess of natural 
forces which we do not understand. 

The writer has been called upon to view hundreds of poor crops which Complaints 
the gardeners have claimed to be due to the sowing of unvital seed, but**' Vitality. 
generally he has been able to point out to the gardeners extended pieces 
here and there where the germination had been perfect, proving that the 
failure in other portions was due to imperfect preparation of land or bad 
sowing, as respects time or depth of covering, for if the seed had a vitality 
of eighty or ninety per cent, over one foot in a hundred feet of row, it was 
equally vital all over the patch. Another class of complaints are from 
those who attempt to assure the seed merchant that every one of a num- 
ber of varieties of seeds sold were of bad vitality. These unreasonable 
people lay down the charge most emphatically, forgetting that such a 
wholesale condemnation contradicts itself, for no seed merchant who ever 
filled an order would send out seeds all of which Avere unvital ; he might 
make a mistake with one, but not with all. It is clearly obvious that 
when all the seeds of an entire purchase vegetate indifferently or entirely 
fail, the fault is in the preparation of the land, the sowing, the soil, insects 
or the season. 

The seed merchant is frequently berated by a certain unreasoning class 
of gardeners who lay all the blame of various failures of the seed upon 
him, and when, on the other hand, the crops develop to unusual propor- 
tions by reason of favorable conditions, the same class of gardeners want 
a premium from the seed merchant for growing the best in their district. 
No class of purchasers are so unreasonable as seed purchasers, for they 
look for perfection in an article yet unborn. The cattle breeder knows full 
well that young stock does not always turn out as he desires, plan he 
never so wisely as to cross-breeding. 

The seed merchant often receives complaint that a lot of cheap seeds 
purchased at random gave as good results as a more costly article, the 
complainant forgetting that he cannot rely upon cheap seeds, for the fol- 
lowing year they may be villainously bad. 

The gardener cannot manufacture vegetables or flowers, nor the farmer 
grain or potatoes, as the mechanic makes an engine, or a shoemaker 
a boot. The gardener has to trust to the hidden processes of nature as 
developed by moisture, heat, chemical action and nutrition. He can only 
help nature, and ofttimes is powerless to do that ; and when some natural 
action fails, or he sows or transplants at an unseasonable period, he should 
not lay the blame upon the seed merchant, unless well assured that the 
seeds sold are positively unvital or positively untrue as to representation 
of kind. 

922. Q. What is the difference between corns known as Gourd Seed, Com. 
Dent and Flint ? 



164 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



manure. 



SvreH«. 



Pin Food. 



A. The Gourd Seed has starchy matter covering the entire top or crown 
of the grain, the bony and oily sides of tlie grain not extending up as high 
as in the Dent nor entirely up to the top as in the Flint. This starch of 
the Gourd Seed when the grain becomes hard and dry shrinks down, 
leaving the top portion of the skin or cuticle of the soft grain to dry and 
curl, which it does, in the form of a sharp or rough tooth-like projection, 
something like the end of a seed of a gourd or squash. 

Dent corn has less starch on the crown of the grain, and the horny or 
oily sides extending almost to the top, the small amount of starch on the 
crown when shrinking seems to draw down with it the skin or cuticle, 
forming a depression or dent, hence the name applied to this type of corn. 

The Flint corns, like the Pop, have the horny or oily sides running 
clear over the top ; they possess little starch and consequently there is no 
shrinkage as in the others to cause a collapse, as it were, of the skin or 
cuticle. 

933, Q. Can I purchase everything which vegetable crops require as 
food? 

A. Yes ; so far as can be determined by the analytical chemist and veg- 
etable physiologist, but you cannot get the component parts in just that 
condition in which they are most assimilable. There are unknown soil 
influences always at work, influences of heat, of cold, moisture, light, de- 
composition, combinations all the while changing the character of sub- 
stance natural to or applied to the soil, and fitting or unfitting them as 
plant food. 

924. Q. Are the leaves of the Bloomsdale Swede the same as those of 
table turnips? 

A. No ; the foliage of a Swede turnip is smooth, a blue green, and 
glossy like that of a cabbage, while the leaves of table turnips and some 
round cattle turnips, both white and yellow fleshed, are yellowish green ^ 
rough and fuzzy. These are styled rough leaved turnips, while the 
Swedes are spoken of as smooth-leaved turnips. 

935. Q. As you advise market gardeners remote from stable-manure 
supplies to keep pigs to make manure, I ask in what way does pig food 
differ from cow food ? 

A. The food for horn-cattle or sheep, ruminant animals, consists largely 
of grass, hay, straw, roots, all containing considerable woody fibres. 
Pigs want very little of foods containing indigestible woody fibre. They 
require foods largely composed of grain, or other seeds, seed oil-cake, 
tubers, all containing starch, sugar and nitrogenous matter, all very con- 
centrated and digestible substances. Nevertheless the pig is a ravenous 
eater and consumes a much larger proportion of dry substances, compared 
with his weight, than the ox or sheep. The investigation of Dr. Lawes 
shows that for each 100 pounds of live weight per week, the fattening ox 
consumes over 13 pounds of dry sul)stance, yielding ly^o pounds of in- 
crease ; the sheep consumes IG pounds of dry substance and yields Ij^j^ 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 165 

pounds of increase, while the pig will consume 29 pounds of dry sub- 
stance and yields 6xVt7 pounds of increase. 

Dr. Gilbert says the fattening foods are more valuable in proportion to 
their richness in digestible and available non-nitrogenous constituents, 
but as the manure is most valuable when it contains a large proportion of 
nitrogen there is an advantage in giving food rich in nitrogen even 
though it may not be so fattening. 

926. Q. What are slime molds? Slime Moid s. 

A. The lowest order of fungi, consisting of a mass of slime growing 
usually on other vegetable matter, as on leaves or wood, often on the roots 
of cultivated plants. The study of the subject of root parasites in general 
is being given great attention, for it is being discovered they are nearly 
quite as common as leaf parasites. 

927 Q. Is Clover hay, according to its analysis, more valuable than clover Hay. 
Timothy hay? 

A. Most certainly. It is quite 25 per cent, more valuable, ton for ton. 
It contains twice as much nitrogen as Timothy, and nitrogen is worth 
fifteen to twenty cents a pound. Grow Clover hay yourself and you will 
not need to raise or purchase so much oil cake for feeding. The estimated 
average quantity of nitrogen in hay of Timothy is about 5 per cent., in 
Crimson Clover about 10 per cent, and in Cow Pea straw about 16 per 
cent. 

928. Q. Can land be cropped continuously, and the product kept up. Fertilizer. 
on su perphosphates of lime ? 

A. It might, but the practice would be without reason. All crops re- 
quire slightly different food and some very distinctly different, conse- 
quently an answer to your inquiry depends upon the crops you would 
purpose to grow. A continuous series of crops might be grown from 
superphosphates, but what would be the advantage in thus adhering to 
one fertilizer. It would be impractical and probably unprofitable. 

929. Is it true that some plants poison the land so that others cannot Poisoned 
grow ? Laud. 

A. Dr. Lawes says that it is so, after fifty years' close attention to the 
subject. He denies that there are any injurious or poisonous excretions. 

930. Q. Will you draw out a list of fruits arranged in the order of their Fruits 

ripening? in Order of 

A. Yes ; but the list can only be of such as are found most suitable in Maturity, 
this section of eastern Pennsylvania. 

Of Apples as follows : 

Early. — Bachelor's Blush, Hagloe, Rose, Early Harvest, Yellow 
Trampat, Red June, Astrachan, Summer Pearmain. 

Intermediate. — Smoke House, Maiden's Blush, Gravenstein, Tall Pippin, 
Orange Pippin. 

Late. — Fallawater, Ben Davis, Northern Spy, Smith's Cider, Baldwin, 
York Improved. 



166 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS, 



Frnits in 
Order of 
Maturity. 



Nitrogen. 



Rotation of 
Crops. 



"Wheat. 



Of Pears as follows : 

Early. —Barileit, Doyenne D'Ete. 

Intermediate. — D'Anjou, LeConte, Bossouck, Sickel, Angouleme. 

Late. — Lawrence, Rutter, Keiffer, Clairgeau, Sheldon. 

Of Peaches as follows : 

Early. — Mountain Rose, Arasden, June, Rivers, Crawford's Early. 

Intermediate. — Stump the World, Old Mixon, Alexander, Reeves, Fa- 
vorite. 

Late. — Crawford's Late, "Wonderful, Ward's Late, Lemon Cling, Free- 
man's Late, Heath Cling, Foster, Susquehanna. 

Of Strawberries as follows : 

Early. — Bubach, Crescent Seedling, Jessie, Wilson. 

Intermediate. — Sharpless, Charleston. 

Late. — Gandy, Kentucky, Mt. Vernon. 

Of Raspberries as follows : 

Early. — Turner, Black, Doolittle and Rancocas. 

Intermediate. — Souliegan, Marlboro, Cuthburt. 

Late. — Gregg, Surprise. 

Of Grapes as follows : 

Early. — Moore's Early, Champion, Wyoming Red, Victor, Early Har- 
vest. 

Intermediate. — Worden, Concord, Empire State, Delaware. 

Late. — Highland, Pocklington, Salem, Wilder and Niagara. 

Of Blackberries as follows : 

Early. — Kittatinnery, Lawson, Wilson, Jr. 

Intermediate. — Snyder. 

Late. — Taylor. 

Of Cherries as follows : 

Early. — Mazzards, Hearts. 

Intermediate. — Biggareaus. 

Late. — Morelloes. 

931. Q. How much nitrogen do crops take from the soil ? 

A. They differ ; but in a general way, according to Dr. Lawes, cropping 
under an average rotation takes about 150 pounds each year, and about 
that much more is lost by leeching down to the substrata. Dr. Lawes 
estimates that about 300 pounds a year has thus to be obtained from some 
source or other. 

933. Q. Who first advocated the agricultural system of crop rotation ? 

A. Lord Townshend, in 1730, saw the system practiced in Germany, 
and introduced it upon his Norfolk estate, a rotation of turnips, barley, 
clover and wheat, raising his farm laud from a sandy waste to great pro- 
ductiveness and value. 

933. Q. What has been the increase of late years in the acreage of 
■wheat production in the United States ? 

A. In 1872 the area was twenty-one million acres, in 1876 twenty-eight 
million acres, and in 1892 thirty-eight million acres. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



167 



934. Q. When was it discovered that certain crops enriched the soil ? Green 

A. It was known in the days of the Romans. Varo, who lived 2000 Manuring. 
years ago, wrote "certain things are to be sown, not with the hope of 
very immediate profit being derived from them, but with a view to the 
following year, because, being plowed in and then left in the ground, they 
render the soil afterwards more fruitful." People of that day did not 
know or even theorize on the reason, but simply worked from the results 
of experience. The crops used by the Romans for this purpose was 
lupins and vetches. 

935. Q. Will you give me the relative customs rates on agricultural Tariff 
produce under the two Tariff Bills, McKinley and Wilson? Rates. 

A. Yes ; the small figures on the following schedule are the percent- 
ages on the obsolete McKinley Bill, and the large black figures are the 
present Wilson Bill ? 



Com 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Buckwheat 

Potatoes 

Hay 

Wool 

Fruits 

Hides 

Eggs 

Vegetables . . . Not otherwise specified 

Tobacco 

Ripp 5 Cleaned. 

^^^^ I Uncleaned. 

Sugar 

Cottou 

Beans (Dried) 

Cabbage 

Brown Com 

Hops 

Onions 

Straw 

Flax Seed 

Apples (Green) 



WILSON BILL. 



20 per cent. 

20 

20 

20 

30 

20 

15 c. Bush. 

$2.00 Ton. 

Free. 



Kree. 

3c. Dozen. 

10 per cent. 

»1.50 lb. 

2.25 lb. 

.35 lb. 

.l^lb. 

.8-10 lb. 
40 per cent. 
Free. 

20 per cent. 
Free. 
Free. 
8c. lb. 
20c. Bush. 
15 per cent. 
20c. Bush. 
20 per cent. 



M'KINLEY BILL. 



15c. Bush. Of 56 lbs. 
25c. " 
10c. " 
15c. ** 

30c. Bush, of 48 lbs. 
15c. " " 

2,5c. Bush, of 60 lbs. 
84.00 Ton. 

.11 lb. wools of 1st class. 

.12 " " 2d " 

32 per cent, wools of 3d & 4th 

classes valued atl3c. per lb. 

Free. 

5c. Dozen. 

25 per cent. 

$2.00 lb. cigar wrappers. 

82.75 lb. cigar wrappers if 

stemmed. 

35c. lb. all other leaf not 
stemmed. 
2c. lb. cleaned. 
134c. lb. uncleaned. 
Free. 
Free. 

40c. Bush, of 60 lbs. 
3c. each. 
88.00 per ton. 

.15 lb. 

.40 Bush. 
30 per cent. 
30c. Bush of 56 lbs. 
25c. Bush. 



936. Q. Will soils, however manured, refuse to produce continuous and crop-sick 
oft- repeated crops of the same plant ? Soils. 

A. Yes ; this is especially the case with leguminous crops, but Dr. 
Lawes for forty years has produced excellent crops of barley on the same 
land, and an average crop of thirteen bushels of wheat for the same forty 
years. 



168 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Iteaistant 
Grass. 



Origin of 

Early 

Corn. 



The Locust. 



Shallots. 



Onion Seed 
Sowing. 



937. Q. I am Secretary of our State Pair Association and want to put 
down twenty acres in permanent grass witliin tlie grounds. Wliat do 
you recommend ? 

A. That combination of grass seeds known as Landretlis' Mixture for 
Atliletic Grounds, it being composed of grasses which will resist tramping. 

938. Q. Are the extra early varieties of corn of northern or southern 
origin ? 

A. Everything in their habit points to a southern origin. They no 
doubt were developed by persistent planting of early-harvested or half- 
ripened seed. Plants of Southern habit do not shoot into growth so early 
in the Spring relatively as Northern plants of the same genera. The 
Southern plants not being so quick to respond to small elevations of 
temperature. The long seas(m of Southern latitudes develop an heredity 
of long drawn out growth, while the quick, sharp, well-defined seasons of 
the North shorten the periods of growth. Southern plants removed to the 
North and brought under the influences of Northern seasons thus become 
earlier to sprout, quicker to grow and earlier to mature. 

939. Q. How does the singing locust make its noise? 

A. In the old Middle States no Summer insect, except the mosquito, is 
more in evidence than the Cicada) or ciog-day locust, its song being 
continuous from sunrise to sunset, consequent upon taking up of the 
refrain by one insect as soon as dropped by another. The song is an 
accompaniment of hot weather. The insect does not make its noise 
through its mouth, but by the action of powerful muscles upon drums 
located upon its body and abdomen. It may be often noticed the song of 
the locust is suddenly terminated by a discordant note ; this is caused by 
the attack and sting of the locust wasp — its deadly enemy — a great hor- 
net which lives in holes in the ground into which it takes the dead 
locusts. 

940. Q. Are there two types of shallots? 

A. Yes. There is the true shallot, the oblong bulbs of which are gen- 
erally encased in a silvery, filmy envelope and there is the false shallot, 
the bulbs of which are not so encased and which are less oblong, quite 
oval, sometimes nearly round, very solid and a coppery red, the outer 
skins very delicate and easily torn off. 

941. Q. At what time should onion seed be sown in the latitude of 
"Washington or south of it to produce early market onions for shipping in 
the Spring? 

A. Sow the seed in a seed-bed between August 15 and September 1 
and when the young plants are three inches high transplant them. In 
the removal from the seed-bed, the first operation is to loosen the earth 
beneath them so as not to tear off any of tlie root fibres. In setting the 
seedlings, place them in rows at eighteen inches apart and two or three 
inches apart in the rows. The seedlings should only be put into good 
soil, should be well fastened in, and the operation performed imme- 
diately after a rain. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 169 

942. Q. I have just purchased a farm in Delaware and upon it find a Weeds. 
varied assortment of weeds, which have for years held such undisputed 
possession that they seem to resist my efforts to eradicate them. What 

shall I do? 

A. You must decide to become master of the situation, and the first 
thing to do is to study the habits of weeds. Their seeds are so often so 
thoroughly protected by envelopes of oily aud starchy matter as to 
retain their vitality for years ; some seeds freely sprouting when brought 
to the surface after having lain for ten or twenty years following 
an unusually deep plowing down, consequently the first important 
thing is to prevent the ripening of weed seeds by destroying the growing 
weeds, if not as soon as they sprout, certainly before they mature. This 
can be done at various stages by the hoe, cultivator, plow, or by digging 
out. A good plan to prevent weeds is to keep the land well covered 
with strong growing crops which themselves take full possession of the 
soil, as clover, rye and other top heavy crops. A third good course is 
always to plow the land after a crop is removed and sow it in something 
to temporarily occupy the soil, if it only be a crop of broadcasted corn 
which may reach a foot or two in height. A good farmer will soon put 
a new face on any farm, be it ever so weedy, and no implement is so 
effective as the hoe, and by it weeds can be destroyed in their earlier 
stages; but that eminent agriculturist. Sir Joseph H. Gilbert, says, that 
upon visiting America he was told that no true-blooded American would 
bend his back sufficiently to use a hoe. 

943. Q. How is it that I now find so many new weeds upon my Mary- Weeds, 

land farm which were not known in that section during my boyhood "ow 
■t q Disseminated 

days? 

A. Because the seeds of wheat, oats, grass and clover are now 

frequently the product of distant localities and with them come the 

■ weed seeds of those remote sections." Seeds are often brought on the wool 

or hair of live stock. For instance : A herd of Texas cattle might easily 

introduce upon a Maryland farm a lot of weeds never before seen there ; 

and in the bedding of cattle cars from distant western localities are 

brought the seeds of many weeds. The whole line of the Pennsylvania 

Railroad between Philadelphia and New York is now bordered with a 

prairie grass the like of which was not seen twenty years ago. 

944. Q. Can I grow in Florida the new tanning plant Canaigre? Canaigre. 
A. Yes. You can do it successfully in any loose and dry land south of 

the latitude of Jacksonville. The plant is a native of Mexico, Arizona 
and Southern California aud belongs to the Dock family. It produces 
tuber-like roots weighing from a few ounces to several pounds ; the 
clusters sometimes weighing up to one hundred pounds. It is propa- 
gated by the sets, about seven hundred pounds being required to plant 
an acre. The planting is best done between the 1st of September and the 
1st of November. A crop is estimated to range from forty to fifty tons to 
the acre. 



170 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Source of 

Agriciiltui'al 

Advice. 



Peanuts. 945. Q. What is the annual production of peanuts in the United States ? 

A. About four million bushels of twenty -two pounds each. For these 
the consumers pay $10,000,000 annually. Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee 
and North Carolina are the largest producers in the order named. The 
African and Indian crop is over eighteen million bushels. Most of the 
foreign product is used in making oil, the kernels yielding from 30 to 40 
per cent, of oil, worth at Marseilles about seventy -five cents per gallon. 
The cake from the oil presses in countries where it is pressed is worth 
thirty dollars per ton as a food for cattle and pigs, and is considered 
superior to any other form of oil cake. 

946. Q. Is the agricultural chemist a better farmer than the practical 
field operator, or upon whose advice can I place the most reliance ? 

A. The agricultural chemist's observations into the components of 
plants may be perfectly accurate, and if he was infallible as respects his 
conclusions then indeed agriculture would be a science, and the chemist 
could direct the farmer just how crops should be fed, but plants are not en- 
tirely developed by chemical combinations or by mechanical measures, 
for back of all these is a vital principle or force, an irritability and varia- 
bility and selective capacity which man cannot control or fathom. The 
agricultural chemist can only suggest foods from which plants can draw 
according to their powers of selection, advanced or retarded by vital force. 

Asparagus. 947. Q. When sowing asparagus seed in my garden what course shall 
I adopt to hasten its sprouting? 

A. Soak the seed for a night in tepid water, the temperature not ex- 
ceeding 130° F. In the morning thoroughly mix the seed with damp 
earth, and put the mass into a box or barrel, where let it stand till minute 
white sprouts appear on the asparagus seed, when at once sow it in rows at 
ten inches apart, if to produce plants for transplanting, or if to remain 
permanently, sow it in rows at five or six feet apart. It is far best to sow 
in close rows, the young plants when two years old to be removed to- 
permanent locations. 

Sugar Corn. 948. Q. Which varieties of Sugar corn most rapidly pass beyond the 
edible condition, that is to say, harden the most quickly ? 

A. The eight-rowed sorts remain the least time in edible condition, as 
the grains are not compact on the cob. Such loosely covered cobs quickly 
lose their moisture, and the grains their juice and palatability because of 
the extraction of their moisture in the drying of the cob. 

Beet Sugar. 949. Q. What is the annual product of beet sugar in Europe ? 

A. lu 1894-'9r) the estimate was as follows: Germany, 1850 thousand 
tons ; Austria, 1050 thousand tons ; France, 790 thousand tons ; Russia, 620 
thousand tons ; Belgium, 285 thousand tons ; Holland, 90 thousand tons ; 
other countries, 106 thousand tons ; a total of 4846 thousands. In the 
United States the approximate manufacture for 1894-'95 was 267 Ihousiind 
tons. 

Tomato. 950. Q. IIow long will a tomato continue to live and produce fruit if 

protected from cold temperature ? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 171 

A. Near the equator a tomato is said to live for many years like the 
grapevine In this latitude there have been thousands of instances where 
in glass houses tomato vines have been kept in bearing condition for 
several years. 

951. Q. Is salt good for land, and if so, why? Salt. 

A. It is not strictly a manure, but changes existing conditions and may 
therefore be looked upon as an alterative. It also drives worms and in- 
sects, and by its affinity for water keeps land moist. 

953. Q. Is Carolina phosphate rock a good dependence upon which to Carolina 
make a crop of garden truck ? Rock. 

A. No, it is not. It is little better than a make-weight, or a component 
of a manufactured Fertilizer, reinforced by the addition of better materials. 

953. Q. Three weeks ago I drilled my spinach seed, but by reason of Spinach Seed 
drought not a seed has sprouted. Will it grow when there is rain ? 

A. Probably it will if the heat of the sun during the drought was not 
sufficient to bake the seed. If the seed made an eifort to grow and was 
arrested by the drought it will not start again as wheat would do, for 
spinach does not possess that quality. 

954. Q. Does a thickly broadcasted com crop collect nitrogen ? Nitrogen. 
A. Certainly, it obtains a little from the soil ; but neither the leaves of 

corn nor the roots collect it from the air in the same quantity as do plants 
of the clover, bean, or pea family. 

955. Q. Which is the most important fertilizer on a wheat farm ? Phosphoric 
A. Phosphoric acid, as tne cereal crops draw largely upon it, and as it Acid. 

is stored away in the grain which is generally sold oflFthe farm, conse- 
quently the drain upon the land is severe, and the phosphoric acid has to 
be replaced by artificial application. Potash is taken up by grain crops 
also, but the potash goes back to the soil in the form of straw, so also in 
the case of clover, beans, roots, fed upon the farm, the potash goes back 
to a large extent. 

956. Q. Are Savoy cabbages superior to smooth-leaved sorts ? Savoy 
A. They are incomparably better, in fact almost equal to cauliflower. Cabbage. 

and they can be grown where neither cauliflower nor broccoli can be 
produced. They can be grown on any cabbage soil. 

957. Q. Down here in Florida I have great difficulty In obtaining a Egg Plant, 
good stand of egg plants. What do you advise? How to 

A. Advise the adoption of the Northern system of growing egg plants. Sow the Seed. 
In Jersey a market gardener sows his egg plants in a hotbed with plenty 
of bottom heat and gives the bed every attention experience can dictate ; 
plenty of heat, rich soil, sufficient watering, sufficient air under the glass 
at proper times, and he thinks well if he gets 50 pei cent, of the best seed 
to stand, and only by greatest attention does he keep them free from 
fungous attack, for if mold once strikes them then he has no recourse. 
But in Florida the general system is to plant the seed in the open field, 
often in nearly white sand, generally without any protection from the 
sun. How can much success be looked for under such a system ? 



172 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Lime. 938. Q. Is lime found in plants, and what benefit is it to plants? 

A. It is found in the straw of grain and more largely in straw of clover 
and beans. The two last are very obviously benefited by the application 
of lime. Dr. Gilbert thinks it is connected with the accumulative or veg- 
etative processes of plants rather than with their maturing processes or 
condition, as a largely increased accumulation of lime is coincident with 
an increased bean and clover crop. Lime is therefore of much importance 
to all crops, but especially to the leguminous. Many sijils, however, 
possess enough natural lime without any artificial application. 

Ruta Baga. 950. Q. Why is the ruta baga considered a better feeding root than 
While or Yellow Globe turnip ? 

A, Ruta baga turnips or Swedes do not develop such a mass of leaf as 
do White Globe turnips, though the Swedes give the greater weight of 
roots, by fiir the larger part of the accumulation of vegetable matter being 
in the roots. The measure of the value of roots is not in the weight of 
water but in the weight of dry substance, and in Swedes the dry sub- 
stance surpasses the proportion in Globe turnips, consequently the 
Swede is the best feeding root. The Swe<le is not cultivated as largely 
as it should be because it requires earlier sowing than round turnips, and 
as at the proper season for drilling Swedes suitable land is not always 
available under American systems of rotation, or under the no system so 
common. Globe turnips planted later are more easily located on the farm, 
as they may follow a grain crop, while Swedes have to be sown before 
the grain is harvested. In any case it is not desirable to have roots too 
ripe, as they will not keep so well through Winter and into Spring. 

960. Q. What are the strongest rooting plants, turnips or beets? 
A. The Sugar beet is a stronger rooter than the mangel, and both are 

stronger tiian the turnip. The Sugar beet, a strong feeder, has widely 
reaching and deeply penetrating roots, and absorbs freelj', and lays up a 
large amount of sugar, sometimes one fifth part of its crude weight. 

961. Q. Do White Globe turnips and Swedes require different soils ? 
A. They do not absolutely require distinct soils, but upon light soiiS, 

which do not produce much leaf matter, Swedes will do well where 
Large White Globe turnips would fail, and on heavy land where Large 
White Globe turnips will flourish, sometimes Swedes will be disappointing. 
A too generous nitrogenous manuring for turnips of any kind induces a 
disposition to make leaf, sometimes to the disadvantage of the root pro- 
duct. Leafy roots are slow to ripen, but sometimes this is an advantage 
as roots too ripe do not keep well during Winter. 

Roots 903. Q. Are roots a desirable food to give milking cows? 

for Cows. A. Yes; they are like grasy, they increase the quanlily of the milk ; 

mangels to a greater extent than turnips, and Sugar beets more than 
mangels. Mangels are better in this respect than silage. Milking cows 
require more and richer food than animals being fattened for market. 

Sugar Beets. 063. Q. Can I rely upon a crop of Sugar beets as a regular and con- 
tinuous cattle food ? 



Turnips 
or Beets. 



Varieties 
of Turnips 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 173 

A No ; cattle should have other food rich in nitrogenous substance. 
The sugar or carbohydrates in roots renders them very valuable to cattle 
for making meat and milk, but they are not sufficient in themselves to sus- 
tain the animal functions. Starchy foods are wanted as well. 

964. Q. Is there a difference in the processes of growing turnip beets or Growing 
other roots for cattle feed and for seed purposes? Roots. 

A. Some distinction, as in the case of roots for cattle the effort is to 
develop the largest growth of the root and consequently the heaviest 
yield to the acre. This is only accomplished by giving the crops the 
benefit of the longest possible growing season. Early drilling is therefore 
a necessity in the case of cattle roots, but not so when growing roots for 
seed as then it is not desirable to have them too big or ripe, for such do 
not keep so easily as less mature roots. The second season, when seed is 
the object, it is best to plant out turnips and beets on heavier lands than 
that on which the roots were produced. 

965. Q. "Why is it that farmyard manure is so efficient? Farmyard 
A. The immediate or first active part of farmyard manure is the urine '^*""^®' 

or liquid portion of the application, then afterwards the very fine and 
easily solved atoms of the mass, and then following the other parts in the 
order of their condition. Various lots of farmyard manure are hardly 
ever alike, never the same on distinct farms, seldom tlie same at different 
periods out of the same yard, consequently their action is more or less 
active and more or less constant. In all cases there are parts not avail- 
able for two or three years and this is clearly proven by the long after- 
results of an application of farmyard manure. In the processes of good 
farming, stable or yard manure is largely made, carefully saved, and 
judiciously applied, and as it is quite continuous in its actions, the fertility 
of a well-managed farm is constantly increasing. 

966. Q. Which are the finest types of sugar corn ? Sugar Com. 
A. Those of twelve or more rows, as in them are found the narrowest 

grains and tightest packing on the cob. "With a diminution in the breadth 
of the grains there is an increase in sugary qualities — long, narrow shoe- 
peg grains being generally the sweetest. 

967. Q. How many years ago was introduced the system of preserving Silos. 
cattle foods in silos ? 

A. Eighteen hundred years ago, Caesar practiced it when he made his 
march from Italy to Germany, storing in pits as he passed through the 
country large quantities of green fodder to serve as food for his animals 
upon his return march. 

968. Q. How can I dissolve five hundred pounds of bones? Bones. 
A. Break them up into pieces small as a walnut and mix with an equal 

quantity of wood ashes, also with thirty pounds of slacked lime, and 
fifteen pounds of sal soda made fine. Mix the mass thoroughly and pack 
into tight bins, boxes or casks, where water thoroughly so as to wet the 
entire mass. Repeat this every three or four days and in three weeks the 
bones will be found all melted down. 



174 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



ItfeaRuring 
Land. 



Blue Grass. 



FnlTerizing 
SoU. 



Subsoil 
Plowing. 



Wire Grass. 



969. Q. Give me some quickly approximative rules for measuring sur- 
face area of farm crops ? 

A. Assuming that the area of an acre is equivalent to a space seventy 
yards long by seventy yards wide, or 4900 square yards, we will call it for 
easy calculation 5000 yards. Now to measure any piece of land pace o3 in 
yards the length and multiply that length by its width, and its area is the 
whole, or more, or the fractional part of 5000. For instance, if the length is 
sixty yards and the width thirty-four yards, it gives an area of 2040 square 
yards, or two-fifths of an acre, or if the length is 180 yards and the widtli 
83 j^ards, the one multiplied by the other gives 15,100 yards or three times 
5000, consequently the area of the piece is three acres. To lay off a desired 
portion of an acre or more pace off in yards to see what is the length of 
the field, and multiply it by such number of yards in width as will make 
the proper fraction of 5000, if the space is to be under an acre, or over 
5000 yards if the space is to be over an acre. Purcliase the little book 
titled The Farmers Land Measurer, by James Pedar. Price sixty cents. 
It is invaluable. 

970. Q. Is not Kentucky Blue grass the best pasture grass? 

A. It is so most decidedly. It is especially vigorous and particularly 
durable on soils of a limestone basis, in proof of which witness the per- 
ennial pastures, pastures good for a hundred years in the blue grass 
regions of Kentucky and Tennessee. 

971. Q. Is it not bad practice to endeavor to pulverize the soil too 
finely ? 

A. No ; the soil cannot be worked too intensely in any farm prepara- 
tion for cropping. Thorough cultivation is equal to an application of 
manure. Try it in any field for any crop ; plow a section of a plowed 
field once more and note the result. Jethro Tull, of Berks, England, 
made himself quite famous in 1810 to 1830 by advocating thorough tillage, 
and subsequently thorough cultivation and hoeing, entirely in place of 
manuring, and while he did not prove his theory he demonstrated the 
wonderful results that could be accomplished by an intense system of 
working the soil. 

973. Q. Is the practice of subsoil plowing beneficial to all soils? 

A. Only on soils having a hard understrata. If the subsoil is sandy 
down to a depth of twelve or fourteen inches— that is as deep as a subsoil 
plow can go — subsoiling will not be of any general benefit. The only ad- 
vantage of subsoiling is to break up hard pan that surface water may pass 
down, or subterranean water rise, and that roots may ramify. 

973. Q. How can I eradicate wire grass? 

A. First dig it out with forks and then work the land every week. It 
is, indeed, best, to omit a year's cropping so that the field can be worked 
weekly. Do not give the roots a chance to got any breath through the 
agency of surface leaves. Destroy the leaves and keep them from devel- 
oping, and the roots will die. 



QUERIES AXD ANSWERS. 175 

974. Q. In what part of the cucumber, the skin or flesh, is the poisonous encumber. 
principle? 

A. There is no poisonous principle. The cucumber is simply indiges- 
tible to some people. Delicate people eat cucumbers with impunity while 
others very robust cannot use them, their gastric juices do not contain the 
proper elements to digest the fruit. 

975. Q. Tell me how a market gardener should lay up cabbage in the Cabbage 
Autumn to be drawn upon for market sales ? reserva ion 

A, Plow two furrow slices together, making a high ridge, and with a 
shovel dig out the furrow, throwing the earth on top of the ridge, which 
tramp hard. Into the open furrow stand the cabbages up perpendicularly, 
side by side, roots down, and tramp the earth hard against the roots, then 
with a plow throw a furrow slice against them, covering up to just under- 
neath the head. Shovel out this new furrow as the first, filling it with 
closely packed cabbage as in the first instance. After thus filling several 
furrows on one side of the ridge repeat the entire operation on the other 
side. Cover with eight to ten inches of straw, on which place poles or 
rails to prevent it from blowing ofi". 

976. Q. Is not rolling the land in many cases injurious? Rolling l.and 
A. Yes ; and farmers are finding it out. Who now sees one roller 

where there were twenty that many years ago. A farm roller is a useful 
implement in dry weather, but should never be used when the soil is in 
condition to pack tightly. * 

977. Q. Is coal ashes good fertilizing material ? Coal Ashes. 
A. Coal ashes are of no value in themselves, but are sometimes useful 

in clay soils, as by their addition such soils are loosened or aerated. Coal 
ashes generally contain a small quantity of wood ashes which give them 
a little value as a manure. 

978. Q. What is the relative value of sorghum as compared with field Sorghum, 
corn for soiling purposes? 

A. Sorghum, ton for ton, is the superior because its stalks and leaves 
contain double the quantity of sugar found in Indian corn. 

979. Q. In growing a crop of potatoes is flat culture or hill culture the potatoes. 
better ? 

A. Cultivation of the potato in hills was a system imported from Ire- 
land and England, followed there by reason of the constant rains and wet 
condition of the soil ; but here, under our warmer sun and drier atmos- 
phere, flat culture is the best. 

980. Q. Can I in any way prepare an imitation of barnyard manure Barnyard 
which will resemble it in action, and cost but little ? flianure. 

A. You can make an apology for it by taking, say, two tons of swamp 
muck, seventy-five pounds of nitrate of soda, one hundred and fifty 
pounds of wood ashes, twenty -five pounds of common salt dissolved in 
water, twenty-five pounds of fine bone meal, ten pounds of land plaster, 
twenty pounds of Epsom salts, dissolved in water, and thoroughly mix 
the whole mass, and let it lay for a week, when turn it over and let it 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Starch 
as Food. 



Celery 
Freservatlon 



■Weeds. 



Plant 
Nutrition 



lay for a month. This should not cost over five or six dollars, and will 
be found quite efficient as a fertilizer, but not so quick in action or so 
stimulating as barnyard manure, because its valuable parts are not so 
comminuted, nor is it in so good condition for assimilation by plants as 
that which has all of it before been within plant systems. 

981 . Q. In what does the value of the starch in corn, or in any food, con- 
sist as a cattle-feeding substance ? 

A. It serves the purpose of a fuel, animals eating it prepare it for 
oxidation, after whicli it is in great part returned to the air through their 
respiratory organs. The oxidation and assimilation of starch imparts 
warmth to the animal and assists the digestion of all other classes of 
foods. 

9S2. Q. How can I lay up my market celery for Winter so it will keep, 
and so I can get at it as I want to sell ? 

A. With a plow throw up a two furrowed ridge and tramp it hard. 
With a shovel clean out the furrows, placing the loose earth on top of the 
ridge, which pack down willi the back of the shovel, then on one side of 
the ridge stretch a line lengthwise and with a spade cut the earth down 
perpendicularly, opening a clean trench five to six inches below the gen- 
eral level of the ground, shoveling the loose earth on to the top of the 
ridge. Make this trench of such a depth that when the celery plants are 
stood up in it their tops will be even with the top of the ridge. In the 
trench stand up the celery three or four stalks thick, pack them tightly 
and fasten them in place with loose soil packed against the root by hand. 
When the trench is thus filled, run a plow alongside throwing the furrow 
slice against the celery, and open the new furrow close alongside with a 
spade, the same as tiie first, and repeat the operation of packing in more 
celery. On the other side of the original ridge perform the same opera- 
tion. When this is done throw several furrows on the outside of both 
sides of the celery bed. Cover the celery with five or six inches of hay 
and that with four or five inches of long stable manure. 

983. Q. Are weeds multiplying on the farms of the United States? 

A. Yes ; to such an alarming extent as to clearly demonstrate a want 
of energy on the part of the American farmer, particularly as the most 
troublesome weeds are foreigners, as, for example, the wild oat, ox-eye 
daisy, thistle, burdock and wild mustard. Weeds are objectionable because 
they extract fertilizing parts from tlie soil, drawing upon that food which 
should be used by the cultivated crops. Weeds increase the labor of 
working crops. They crowd a valuable ^crop so that it diminishes pro- 
duct, and they add to the labor of cleaning the grain crops for market. 
Few weeds are of any use for either man or beast, generally being bitter 
or acrid in taste. 

984. Q. Where is conducted the best system of investigation into the 
subject of plant nutrition ? 

A. At the Dramstadt Experimental Station, where the tests are all 
made in zinc tubs and pots, thousands of them, the largest about thirty 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 177 

inches in diameter and forty inches deep, the smallest pots about ten 
inches in diameter. The station grounds occupy about three and a half 
acres, and are so arranged that the pots are moved by tram cars in the 
open air on days not raining, but kept under cover during inclement 
weather. "While the conditions of pot culture are not the same as in the 
open field, it is nevertheless the most exact system of research into the 
growth of plants, soil exhaustion and soil drainage, as the pots can be 
brought under the control and protection of the experimenter, while in 
the open field all sorts of complications arise. 

985. Q. What is the soil in relation to vegetation ? ^he Soil. 
A. It is both a laboratory and a mine. Certainly our own rich, black 

prairie soils are mines containing the vegetable accumulations of genera- 
tions, but unfortunately by bad systems of cropping they are being ex- 
hausted. Of course the soil is also a laboratbry, for all applied manures 
must pass through chemical changes and combinations effected to fit them 
for food for plants. A very small portion of the commercial fertilizers 
are, as applied to the soil, in a condition to be at once taken into plant 
systems simply by being dissolved in water, they have to undergo more 
or less change. If this were not so their action would be as quick and 
transient as a flash of gunpowder, whereas they often take two or three 
years to cease their activity. 

986. Q. I never can grow a crop of perfect ears of sugar corn, the soft Com Grab. 
grain always being badly cut by a grub in the husk. Can I prevent it? 

A. The moth lays its eggs on the ear when it is very small, and the 
caterpillars are ready to enter the ear before it is half grown. Without a 
trial in the case the writer would venture to suggest the enveloping of 
the immature ear by bands of loose paper, or envelop them in loose paper 
bags like grape growers envelop grape bunches, but it would be necessary 
to permit the silk at the end of the ear to protrude, otherwise pollination 
would not take place. This very exposure of the end of the ear miglit 
defeat the effort to preserve it from the attacks of the grub, for it might 
afford a fit resting place for a late flight of moths to deposit their eggs. 

987. Q. Are there insects beneficial to agriculture ? Beneficial 
A. There are thousands assisting in the pollination of flowers, and insects. 

thousands of others destroying noxious species of insects. It is estimated 
there are in the world twenty millions of species of insects, and it is cal- 
culated that a million or more are advantageous to agriculture. About 
ten thousand species of predaceous or parasitic insects are known in the 
United States, but it will not do for the agriculturist to lay by and hope 
for nature to send to his aid a flight of insectivorous insects to eat up 
others, for tlie beneficial hosts are small in numbers as compared with the 
injurious forms. The well-known snake feeder or dragon fly, so common 
in Summer, is a showy representative of beneficial insects, as it lives upon 
others, which it kills. 
088. Q. What are the names of twenty or thirty of the most common weeds. 



178 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Turnips, 



weeds found among the crops of the ordinary farmer of the South Atlan- 
tic States? 

A. The writer cannot undertake to name all or even the most promi- 
nent, for those particularly noticeable in one section are less so in another, 
but the following list alphabetically arranged will certainly include 
many of the most troublesome : 



Nitrogenons 
Manures. 



Amaranthus or Pigwig. 

Bone set or Indian Sage. 

Bramble or Blackberry. 

Burdock. 

Buttercup or Crowfoot. 

Chickweed or Mouse Ear. 

Cheat or Chess. 

Cockle Burr or Clot Burr. 

Corn Cockle or Agrostemina. 

Catnip or Catmint. 

Daisy or White Weed. 

Dock or Rumex. 

Dodder or Flax Vine. 

Dandelion or Taraxacum. 

Garlic. 



Lamb's Quarter or Goosefoot. 

Milk Weed or Silk Weed. 

Mullein or Velvet Plant. 

Night Shade or Bitter Sweet. 

Plantain or Buck Horn. 

Purslane or Pussley. 

Rag Weed or Bitter Weed. 

Sorrel or Oseille. 

Smart Weed or Knot Weed. 

Shepherd's Purse. 

Stramonium or Jimson Weed. 

Thistle. 

Wild Carrot. 

Wild Mustard or Charlock. 

Wild Radish. 



Indian Mallow or Abutilon. 

989. Why is it that you recommend the growing of turnips as a restora- 
tive crop? 

A. Because they can only be successfully grown after a good manuring, 
and after proper preparation of the land, the two operations being very 
obviously in the direction of high farming, the manure applied, generally 
barnyard manure, is only partially used by the turnip, a large proportion 
being available to following crops. The turnip tops all go back on the 
land either directly or as manure, and the roots, if used in the stable in 
fattening stock, are to a large extent voided by the animals, this ex- 
crement containing quite 70 per cent, of the nitrogen of the crop. Milch 
cows retain a larger proportion of the nitrogen than beef cattle. The 
turnip leaves which are returned, contain a large proportion of nitrogen 
also, and are worth double their cost. Thus the thorougli preparation of 
the land, the manuring for the crop, the large yield of leaves from the 
crop, cattle excrement returned, all go to bring up the land to a high 
level of fertility and general condition. Consequently on farms where 
turnips are largely grown for cattle food, the general character of the soil 
is annually improved. 

990. Q. What is the effect of large applications to cattle root crops of 
nitrogenous manures, as rich barnyard manure, nitrate of soda and cot- 
ton seed cake ? 

A. They add very largely to the gross return, the tons harvested, but 
the percentage of sugar, the fattening ingredient in the roots, is not so 
high as in a smaller crop grown from less nitrogen. In other words, 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. ltd 

nitrogen produces large crops of roots aggregating a large amount of 
sugar, but seemingly not in pioportion to the nitrogen supplied. An 
excess of nitrogen gives great leaf luxuriance, and keeps the plants unripe 
late into the season. As an adjunct to nitrogen as a food to root crops, 
potash is very important, the increase of sugar being much influenced by 
the amount of potash. 

991. Q. Can I get good crops of truck by using 600 to 700 pounds of super- 
superphosphate to the acre ? phosphates, 

A. Generally you can look for good results, but you don't get enough 
potash in ordinary superphosphate. As a rule, years of use and almost 
entire reliance upon superphosphate have brought about on garden soils 
a potash impoverishment which seriously affects results. Potash is 
required largely by corn, clover, potatoes, and is eagerly assimilated by 
all garden vegetables, in fact it is never out of place. Don't adhere 
entirely to superphosphates. Its makers don't profess to furnish much 
potash. You can get potash in vrood ashes, and it is safe to apply one 
ton or fifty bushels to the acre, or you can get it in muriate of potash, 
using 200 or 350 pounds to the acre. Nitrate of soda can be applied, using 
300 or 400 pounds to the acre. The urine of animals is especially rich in 
potash and should all be saved by absorbents placed in the barnyard, and 
the manure pile should be kept under a shed and not be exposed to the 
leeching effects of rain. 

992. Q. Is the sweet potato of the same family as the yam. Sweet 
A. No, they are of distinct genera, the sweet potato being, it is thought, Potato- 

a native of Central America. In 1526 it was in general cultivation in St. 
Domingo and other West India islands. Botanically it belongs to the 
Convolvulus family of dicotyledonous plants. The edible portions are 
true roots. In China there is an edible root somewhat resembling it but 
of the Ipomaea family. The various species of yams cultivated in the 
United States belong to the widely scattered Dioscorea family and are 
believed to have been brought from Africa. They are monocotyledonous 
plants, markedly distinct in this particular from the dicotyledonous sweet 
potato, and the yams are distinct also in their flowers, as in them the 
sexes occur on different plants, while in the sweet potato the sexes are 
found on the same flower. The edible portion of the yams are under- 
ground stems, while in the sweet potatoes they are roots. The distin- 
guishing qualities between the sweet potato and the yam is too well 
known to need description. 

993. Q. Do most garden vegetable plants fertilize or pollenize them- PoiUnatiott. 
selves. 

A. A great many do : but quite as many absolutely require the aid of 
insects to carry the pollen from one flower to another, or to loosen parls 
of the flowers of monoecious plants that fertility may take place. A 
familiar example is found in the bean, pea, and clover plants, where the 
visitation of an insect at the right time causes the stamens to discharge a 
cloud of pollen. It is said that bees when visiting the flowers of beans 



180 



QUERIES A.ND ANSWERS. 



Vegetable 
Growth. 



instinctively alight or creep upon the flower, so that their weight causes 
the pistil to protrude to receive the pollen. A hundred other instances of 
equally curious character could be quoted. Prof. Beale, of Michigan, 
has conducted experiments in the covering of flowers with gauze to pre- 
vent the visitation of the flowers by insects, and reports in many instances 
no seed set. 

ibexes in 994. Q. What are terms used to indicate the sexes of Vegetable plants ? 

Flowers. A. When the flowers have stamens alone, the vegetable plant is termed 

a male or staminate plant. When with pistil alone, it is termed female or 
pistillate. When both male and female organs are found on the same 
plant, it is termed a moncecioua plant. When the male and female organs 
are found on diS"erent plants, it is dicecious. When unsexual or hermaph- 
rodite flowers are on the same plant, it is termed polygamous. When 
male and female flowers are both absent, it is termed neutral. 

995. Q. In what form does the growth of vegetables occur? 
A. By the laying on of cells or an increase of the whole plant. "Vessels 

producing vessels and cells producing cells." In animals every part of 
the frame and flesh is renewed from time to time, it being commonly 
understood there is a complete change every nine or ten years, but in 
vegetables, except in leaf and bark, there is no renewal of parts once 
formed, the entire growth is in the line of new matter to be piled on top 
or on the exterior of that already formed. 

996. Q. Is it a good plan to sow grain with young grass for purposes 
of protecting it? 

A. It is a bad plan, as the more vigorous grain smothers the tender 
grass in the Spring, making it still more tender. Belter get your grass 
in early in the Autumn so as to give it a good start, and let it take its 
chances, for if well started it won't need grain as a nurse. 

997. Q. Why is the okra almost unknown in Northern markets ? 

A. It is preeminently a Southern vegetable, but it can be grown wher- 
ever sugar corn will flourish. It is little cultivated, however, north of 
Baltimore? 

998. Q. Do roots of garden vegetables require much air? 
A. Yes; just as much as leaves, as is proven by their death when 

deprived of air or when grown in poisonous gas, as carbonic acid. This 
shows one of the advantages of deep and frequent culture. Neither 
leaves nor roots have organs corresponding to tlie lungs of animals nor 
to the gills of flsh, but they in some way absorb air and make use of it as 
an absolute necessity. Air at the roots of plants is necessary to present 
the water of the soil in best condition for absorption by the roots, as they 
do not absorb water so much as watery vapor, hence air is necessary 
among other things to absorb the water and present it in vapory form. 

Seed 999. Q. Is there any Government control of the seed business for pur- 

Coutrol. poses of jireveuting fraud ? 

A. No I But there might be to advantage. Every department of 
art or science has its humbug, and it would be strange indeed if 



Sowing 

Grass. 



Okra. 



Air in the 
Sail. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 181 

that one which is the oldest and most extensively practiced was free. 
Agriculture and horticulture must be content to bear their shares, 
for like in the treatment of weeds, cast out as many as we will, 
some germs remain, and like weeds with the warm of returning Spring, 
the humbugs are reanimated and spring up with smiling faces. Many 
of the State Experimental Stations have for some years been engaged 
in analyzing commercial fertilizers and publishing the results, all of 
which has been very beneficial as indicating to the farmer fraudu- 
lent brands, consequently fewer of such are now made than for- 
merly. It is quite within the scope of the work of experimental 
stations to take up the question of seeds and to publish sworn reports 
of vitality tests of seeds obtained from various seedsmen, and the 
results of microscopic examinations in search of weeds, imperfect and 
moldy seeds ; and subsequently reports of quality as shown in the 
experimental garden. Such Seed Control Stations, as they are termed 
in Europe, will certainly be established in this country as well as 
abroad, as the work there is much appreciated, particularly in Germany 
and Austria. No farmers, no market gardeners, or private gardeners, 
as the Americans, sow so large a proportion of poor seeds, because 
there are so many of such imported. Many European seedsmen seem 
to think anything is good enough for the American market, some of 
them sending here what they would not sell under their own names 
in their own countries. The ordinary farmer or gardener purchases 
the lowest price seed he can get, and consequently he gets lots of 
weed seeds in his grass and clover, and the vegetable market gardener 
often gets stocks much doctored. A low price for seed nowadays con- 
demns it in the estimation of those who know, for if it is good it cannot 
be priced below the normal value. 

1000. Q. What is the object of bleaching celery ? Celery 

A. Celery is bleached to get rid of the acrid quality which is always Bleaching, 
present in the green chlorophyll situated in the leaves between the upper 
and lower epidermis. The chlorophyll when green contains iron, an 
essential to all green plants, and is acrid and bitter, but bleached it loses 
the iron and its objectionable flavor with it, and becomes mild and sweet. 

1001. Q. How late in Summer can I plant garden seeds so that I may 

have a fair expectation of a crop reaching edible condition before frost? Seeding: 
A. 1. Average, and note down, the date of the first killing frost in your ^^^"^ *" 
neighborhood. 

2. Calculate, and note down, the number of days required from date of 
germination to obtain edible condition required by Spring-sown garden 
crops in your district. 

3. As Summer and Autumn crops generally grow slower than Spring 
crops, add ten or fifteen days to the usual number of days required for 
Spring-sown crops and you have the number of days preceding the day 
of frost required by an Autumn crop to develop into edible condition 

4 In Pennsylvania the periods usually required for quickly developing 



182 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Breathing 
Pores. 



Mangel 
Wurzel. 



Club 
Koot. 



Sugar 
Corn. 



Kutation. 



garden vegetables to reach edible condition are about as follows : peas, 
forty to fifty days ; beans, forty to fifty days ; corn, seventy to seventy five 
days ; cucumber, seventy to eighty days ; radish, eighteen to twenty five 
days ; spinacli, forty to fifty days ; tomato, one hundred to one hundred 
and twenty days. For Autumn cropping add ten to fifteen days to each 
period. 

1003. Q. How many breathing pores are there to the inch on the leaves 
of most garden vegetables? 

A. The pores are called stoniata, and give passage to air, serving the 
purpose of expiration and inspiration. On most plants there are one 
hundred to five hundred thousand to the square inch. 

1003. Q. In what v/ay do Mangel Wurzel difl"er from Swede turnips? 
A. Mangels, which are large growing beets, have to be sown a month 

earlier than Swedes, which are of the turnip family, the Mangels requir- 
ing a longer period to develop. The Mangel roots deeply, and is not so 
dependent upon frequent rains, as it has powers of accommodation to fluc- 
tuating circumstances greater than the turnip. It is more leafy, and is a 
plant requiring a higher temperature than the turnip. It is a gross 
feeder, requiring a heavy dressing of manure, and is particularly devel- 
oped in growth by nitrogenous food. 

1004. Q. Part of my truck patch was last year affected by club root, 
and as I am limited in capital I cannot aflord to rent new land, now what 
can I do to remedy the evil ? 

A. In the Winter broadcast seventy -five bushels of air-slacked lime to 
the acre, also one thousand pounds of kainit, and before seeding in the 
Spring, apply to the acre four thousand gallons of water having in solu- 
tion forty pounds of corrosive sublimate. 

1005. Q. When was Sweet or sugar corn introduced ? 

A. The Eight Rowed sugar corn was the first introduced, and while it 
appeared generally in seed catalogues about 1840, and was in 1830 offered 
for sale by one or two leading seedsmen, it was not till about 1850 that it 
became generally appreciated as superior to the field corns used generally 
for "roasting," as corn was cooked in those days, the varieties used 
for table purposes being then the Early Canada, Horse Tooth and Tusca- 
rora. But sweet corn was known many years before, as there are records 
of its existence among the Indians on the Susquehanna river as early as 
1779. Pure sweet corns are nearly all very oily, very little starch being 
visible, the oily condition being expressed by the word corneous or 
horny, and just as soon as this conditicm begins to breed out, such types 
cease to be true sugar corn. 

1006. Q. Wliat is the benefit of rotation of crops? 

A. A change every year of crops on a field, especially so that the crops of 
same nature do not go back for five or six years, is highly advantageous, as 
the alternating plants if properly selected do not require the same quanti- 
ties or conditions of plant food, and even if the artificial additions of man 
ure are only moderate in quantity, there may be through the processes of 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 183 

soil decomposition an accumulation of some of the fertilizing constituents 
needed by the first series of plants when the time comes to repeat the 
series. Another benefit of the rotation of crops is that some of the crops 
are nearly all returned to the land, while if the cultivation was contin- 
uous of crops to be sold off the land, soil exhaustion would be certain to 
follow. 

1007. Q. Are there many plants poisonous to the touch? Poisonous 
A. There are several plants poisonous to nearly every one, and many ^^*'***' 

others poisonous to persons of peculiar susceptibilities ; for example : the 
poison ivy, sometimes called poison oak, a climbing vine, is harmless to 
the writer, but many people cannot touch it, some can hardly pass it on the 
leeward side, without being poisoned, on occasions when it has been cut 
or torn, as it then exudes a caustic milky juice, which, brought in contact 
with the skin, develops blisters. The poison sumac, a small tree grow- 
ing in swamps and in damp places, exudes a sap which touching the 
arms or hands of many people raises painful blisters. The cultivated 
parsnip is poisonous to many people. There are many plants poisonous 
when eaten, possibly forty to fifty distinct genera in the eastern United 
States, but most of them no sensible person would think of eating for 
none such are attractive. Animals sometime eat poisonous plants, and no 
doubt many mysterious affections of horses and cattle may be attributed 
to this cause. 

1008. Q. Give me a table of the periods of time required by garden Maturity 
vegetables to reach edible condition after germination ? of 

A. Any data in this line is merely approximative, as the period is length- "^®S«taWe8. 
ened or shortened by conditions of moisture or heat, age of seed, vigor of 
seedling, depending upon its physical condition and soil enrichment. The 
following periods of days of time are intended to comprehend the earliest 
and the intermediate, not the periods of maturity of the latest sorts : 

Radish, 18 to 30 days. Squash, 80 to 90 days. 

Lettuce, 25 to 35 days. Cantaloupes, 80 to 90 days. 

Turnip, 40 to 50 days. Large onions, 80 to 100 days. 

Spinach, 40 to 50 days. Carrots, 85 to 90 days. 

Beets, 40 to 50 days. Watermelons, 90 to 100 days. 

Peas, 40 to 60 days. Cabbage, 100 to 130 days. 

Beans, 50 to 60 days. Tomatoes, 100 to 130 days. 

Corn, 70 to 75 days. Pumpkins, 100 to 120 days. 

Cucumbers, 70 to 80 days. 

10U9. Q. Tell me a simple remedy to destroy green worms infesting my cabbace 
cabbage plants ? Worms.^ 

A. When the dew is on them, best done at night, sprinkle very finely 
pulverized salt over the plants. The dew will dissolve the salt, and the 
salted water wherever it touches a green worm will kill it, but don't salt 
the plants too much or they will be killed also. 

1010. Q. Which kinds of field corn are the quickest and most certain to Corn 
germinate ? Germination, 



184 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



I'epper 
Plants. 



Corn, 
Karly 
Cultivation. 



Vitality of 

Cabbage 

Seed. 



Onion 

Sets 

Weights. 



A. The Flint sorts are the quickest to sprout and the most reliable. 
The softer the variety the greater the possibility of decay. The pop 
corns may be taken as representative of the hardier sorts. 

1011. Q. I have a one-quarter acre patch of pepper plants, very tall and 
a mass of foliage, but not a fruit set. Can you explain this? 

A. It is probably due to overraanuring, inducing too luxuriant a 
growth, the nourishment necessary to produce flowers and fruit being all 
taken up in the formation of wood and leaf. Try root pruning by run- 
ning a plow on one side, so close as to cut quite one-third of the roots of 
every plant, this check may cause the number of blooms to increase and 
fruit to set. While flowering and fruit-bearing is an exhaustive process 
requiring a large amount of nourishment, it does not advance the process 
to manure too highly, as it is generally the half starved plants which are 
most productive. It is very noticeable that vegetable garden plants of an 
usual number of flowers are always weakest in growth, and conversely, 
the very vigorous growers produce few flowers. It is just the same in 
the animal kingdom, the herdsman well knows that a lean cow is the 
most reliable breeder. 

1012. Q. Did the early American Indians cultivate corn to any extent? 
A. The author takes the liberty of answering this query by making 

some extracts from the pamphlet of Dr. E. L. Sturdevant, South Farm- 
ingham, Massachusetts, "General Sullivan at the time of his expedition 
against the Indians in 1779, destroyed twenty thousand bushels of corn 
at Genesee, New York. De Nowville, in 1687, in the same region, des- 
troyed twelve hundred thousand bushels. Fontienack, in 1097, employed 
bis army for three days destroying corn. In the Pequot War, in 16:j6, the 
English destroyed 2u0 acres on Block Island, and in 1675 they harvested 
1000 acres of corn in one place. General Wayne, in 1794, wrote of the 
Delawares in Ohio, ' I never before beheld such immense fields of corn.' 
In 1498 Columbus reported his brother as having passed through eighteen 
miles of corn fields on the Isthmus. In 1520, the ships of Magellan were 
supplied with corn at Rio Janeiro." 

1013. Q. What may be considered an average of vitality of cabbage 
seed? 

A. In 1887 the New York State Experimental Station made tests of 
164 packets of cabbage seed procured from fifteen diff"erent seed mer- 
chants, testing 32,800 seeds in samples of 100 each, and found the highest 
test to be 94 per cent, and the lowest 48 per cent., the general average 
being 76 per cent. To arrive at the various vitalities of same seed under 
distinct tests the station authorities next took several distinct samples 
from each lot and tested them, and found an average variation of 15 per 
cent, to 20 per cent, between the lots of seed, due to some slight diifiMence 
in soil or atmospheric conditions. An illustration that little relirtnee can 
be placed on testa unless reported at different intervals and under diU'erent 
circumstances and the average result calculated. 

1014. Q. What is the legal weight for a bushel of Onion Sets? 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 185 

A. There is no fixed weight, and there could not be, for they are con- 
stantly decreasing in density by evaporation of moisture. Two bushels 
measured and stored away in September will not measure more than one 
bushel in March. On October 1, the Bloomsdale Farm sets weighed forty- 
four pounds to the bushel, as measured, but they are not sold by weight, 
but by measure. 

There are all sorts of ways of selling sets — some people give thirty-two 
pounds, others a stroke bushel, others a heaped bushel, and prices vary 
accordingly. As an example, $2.25 for a bushel of thirty-two pounds is 
no cheaper than $3 for a bushel of forty-two pounds. By reason of 
shrinkage they increase in value quite twenty to twenty-five cents per 
month per bushel. 

1015. Q. What is the annual quantity of potatoes imported? Potatoes 
A. For the year ending June, 1894, the quantity was over three million l™P*»''te<*' 

bushels, valued at over one and a quarter millions of dollars, Scotland 
sending over one half of the total quantity. 

1016. Q. Will it pay me as a market gardener to devote one of my glass Market 
houses to the Winter culture of tomatoes ? Gardeuing 

A It will if you are an expert in such work, or are quick to learn. ""'^*''^ 
The house should be separated from others, as they might be sometimes 
too high in temperature, and other times too low. The mercury in a 
tomato house may vary from seventy to ninety degrees during the day, 
should not fall below sixty-five to seventy-five degrees during the night. 
There should be head room of quite five feet between the soil of the 
benches and the glass to admit of space for the extension of the vines. 
The plants should be set about fifteen inches apart and trimmed to single 
stalks, these trained to sticks or cords. Early sorts should ripen fruit in 
about 110 days from the germination of the seed. Natural pollination 
of tomatoes under the conditions of glass-house culture is not sufiicient to 
give a full crop, hence the polliualion must be assisted by artificial means. 
This can be done by jarring the pollen from the flowers into a spoon, and 
thrusting into the spoon the stigma of the flower to be fertilized. It is 
important that this be done thoroughly, as imperfect pollination results 
in imperfect fruit and a small crop. When the fruit becomes heavy the 
strain should be taken off the plant by artificial support given to the 
fruit. A plant should give about three pounds of fruit. For under-glass 
culture try the three Landreth Cross-Bred Varieties, the Red Cross, the 
Purple Cross and the Two-Celled Cross, all entirely distinct from any of 
the standard sorts. Very early, very prolific, very deep in shape, very 
solid and smooth. 

1017. Q. Is the nutritive or feeding value of all turnips or all beets the reeding 
same ? Value 

A. Very different ; not only between the families of turnips and beets, of 
but between the sorts of each family, and still again between the crops of'^"™'P* 
the same sort grown on fields of different quality, or different manuring, Beets. 
or grown after different periods of drilling, or under varying conditions of 



186 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Potatoes. 



Potato 
A'arieties. 



SJquash or 
l'uiui>kin. 



solar light, and consequent upon different degrees of maturity. Cattle- 
feeding roots are largely composed of water ranging from 80 to 'JO per 
cent., consequently the nutritive value is measured by the amount of dry 
matter which varies in white turnips from 7 to 9 per cent.; yellow turnips 
8 to 10 per cent. ; Swedish turnips 10 to 12 percent.; mangel wurzels 10 
to 14 per cent. To be more exact, in the estimate of value must be con- 
sidered the amount of sugar in this dry matter, and it may be approximately 
stated as in white turnips 40 to 50 per cent., yellow turnips 40 to 50 per 
cent., Swedish turnips 50 to 60 per cent., mangel wurzels 60 to 70 per 
cent. Sugar is technically known as a carbohydrate, and as a cattle food 
it forms fat. 

1018. Q. I have a good crop of potatoes this year, having just put away, 
my crop from seventeen acres of 3380 bushels, or 260 bushels to the acre. 
Is that quantity often grown ? 

A. No, it is not ; 200 bushels is a big crop of well-sorted, fairly 
measured potatoes. On that quantity most farmers would be glad to com- 
promise as a regular return for a term of years, but occasionally it is ex- 
ceeded not only twice, but three times ; for instance, at the Chicago 
Exliibition there was shown by New York State farmers samples of crops 
certified to be grown from measured acres of tlie following varieties and 
quantities : 

Maggie Murphy, 810 bushels. 

Ideal, 675 bushels. 

Earls Rociiester, 656 bushels. 

White Flower, 640 bushels. 

Albany Seedling, 574 bushels. 

1019. Q. Name me some good sorts of potatoes, earlj', medium and 
late. 

A. For very early. — Early Ohio, Irish Cobbler, Bliss Triumpli. 
For medium early. — Early Vermont, Reeves Rose, Holton Rose. 
For late. — Freeman, Green Mountain, State of Maine, Peerless, Gar- 
field, Rural New Yorker, American Giant, Rural Blusli. 

1020. Q. To what botanical family does the squash and pumpkin 
belong? 

A. They are not of one family, but of two distinct characters, the squashes 
being of the genus Cucurbita maxima while the pumpkins are of the 
genus Cucurbita pepo. Botanists classify them according to the forma- 
tion of their leaves ; for instance, those of entire or undivided leaves are of 
the maxima or squash family, comprising the Hubbard, Marblehead, 
Boston, Mammoth, Fordhook, Chili, Red Turban, Bologne, Etampes, 
Sweet Potato, Winter Crook Neck, and, strange to say, the Cheese and 
Cashaw, ordinarily called pumpkins ; while on the other hand, those of 
subdivided or cut leaves are of \.\\c pepo or pumpkin family, represented 
by the Negro pumpkin, the Yellow Field, Nantucket, Golden Summer 
Crook Neck, White Bush, the last two ordinarily called squashes. The 
undivided or entire leaves of the maxima, while hairy on the surface and 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 187 

on the leaf stalks, diflfer from the cut or divided leaves of the pepo fam- 
ily, as the leaves of this last are much more harsh and bear upon the foot 
stalks quite stiff and spiny thorns. Another difference is that the maxima 
or squash family, as a rule, develop thick, swollen, woody fruit stalks, 
and their blossoms generally are lemon colored, while those of the cut- 
leaf sorts produce small fruit stalks and the blossoms are generally orange 
in color. This classification, made according to form of leaves, character 
of spines and fruit stalks, mixes up familiar pumpkins and squashes to a 
puzzling extent, as under it Early "White Bush squash becomes classed as 
a pumpkin and Cashaw pumpkin becomes classed as a squash. For 
practical purposes the farmer's test is the best, and that is, when he can 
stick his thumb nail into the rind after reaching fuil development it is a 
pumpkin, when he cannot it is a squash, as its rind becomes hard as 
wood. A close physiological relationship is indicated and determined by 
the crossing of sorts, which will occur freely if thej^ belong to the same 
family, and seldom in cases where they are of distinct families. 

1021. Q. Down here in Louisiana, large quantities of crude molasses Molasses 
are allowed to go to waste, and I write to inquire the value of molasses as Cattle 

a food for cattle and pigs ? Food. 

A. Forty years ago Dr. Lawes, of Rothamstead, conducted experi- 
ments to determine the value of sugar as a food for pigs, and arrived at 
the conclusion that sugar had the same high value as pure starch. Since 
then Letimen, of Gottingen, has tried feeding sugar to sheep, and found 
it of the same value as the non-nitrogenous ingredients of other cattle 
foods. His experiments were satisfactory but developed nothing remark- 
able with respect to the nutrition of sheep. Subsequently he tried sugar 
on several lots of pigs, and found in all cases that its addition to the regu- 
lar ration increased the amount of total food consumed and increased cor- 
respondingly the weight of pork. The estimate of increase being three- 
tenths of a pound of live weight for each pound of sugar consumed, or 
stated in another way, one pound of gain in meat was produced by three 
and one-third pounds of sugar. By the results of these experiments it 
would seem well worth while to utilize a portion, if not the whole, of 
the molasses wasted. It might be used with some absorbent and kept in 
silos. It should not, however, be used without caution, as it contains 
various salts which might make it strongly purgative. In no case could 
it be depended on as a complete and only food. 

1022. Q. Is there more than one kind of mint? Mint. 
A, There are three plants to which this name is applied : 

1. Spearmint, a native of Europe, botanically known as Mentha viri- 
dis. This is used for seasoning. It flourishes in a cool, moist soil and a 
bed of it will last for several years. 

2. Peppermint. This is cultivated largely for its oil, the census reports 
showing about 6000 acres are cultivated in the United States. 

3. Catmint or catnip is a plant distinct from the two preceding. It also 
furnishes an essential oil, aromatic, stimulative and anti-spasmodic. It 



188 



QUERIES AXD ANSWERS. 



Germination 
ol Lettuce. 



Vegetable 

List. 



flourishes in the Southern States, and by some is used in Summer drinks 
as a substitute for spearmint, which is the proper article for such purposes. 

1023. Q. AVhy is it that July and August sowings of lettuce seed so 
frequently fail to germinate. I live in Florida, and Midsummer sowings 
of lettuce are the most profitable. I attributed the failure to getting old 
seed, but I Lave had the same seed to give good results sown at a later 
period ? 

A. This is clearly attributable to unfavorable conditions. You may 
have put it into soil too dry to afTord the necessary moisture to swell the 
seed, or if swollen, the germ may have been parched by earth burning 
hot, or you may have covered the seed too deeply, some lettuce seed 
should never be covered, but just tramped or patted down. The follow- 
ing is an exact copy of a letter received from a seed merchant to whom 
the firm of the writer sold some lettuce seed. 

"I regret exceedingly that I was misled by Truckers in regard to 
the germination of your Royal Cabbage lettuce seeds, and I now find 
that they were impatient, unreasonable and their reports entirely un- 
true, as I sowed your seeds in a box, on the 2d of this month, and 
I find them up well this morning, and besides, one of tlie men who 
had this seed told me, not ten minutes ago, that his was up too thick and 
that others in his section told him yesterday that it was now coming up 
nicely, and I now write to apologize to your firm, as I feel very sorry 
for what I said two or three days ago, believing as I then did, from the 
reports of so many, that the seeds were worthless." 

1024. Q. Furnish me with a list of two or three sorts of each leading 
table vegetable suitable for a family garden in the vicinity of Baltimore. 

Peas — Extra Early, American Wonder, Bloomsdale, Phonograph. 

Beans. — Red Valentine, Landrelhs' Scarlet, Pink Eye Wax, Pole 
Lima. 

Corn. — Crosby, Landreths' Sugar, Evergreen. 

Cabbage. — Early Jersey Wakefield, Reedland Early Drumhead, Blooms- 
dale Large Late Flat Dutch. 

Carrot. — Pointed Horn, Ox Heart. 

Celery. — Paris Golden, White Plume. 

Cucumber. — First, Landreths' Choice, White Spine. 

Fgg P^an^— Thornless. 

JSale. — Bloomsdale Extra Curled. 

Lettuce. — Forcing, Virginia Solid Ileader, Bloomsdale Reliable. 

Watermelon. — Boss, Arkansas Traveler, Long Ligiit Icing. 

Cantaloupe. — Jennie Lind, Anne Arundel, Missouri. 

Onion. — Bloomsdale Pearl, Bermuda Red, Hard Round Golden. 

Okra. — Long Green Pod. 

Parsnip. — Bloomsdale. 

i?arf«:»/t.— Landreths' Earliest, White Lady Finger, Wonderful Ilalf 
Long Red. 

iSpinach. — Bloomsdale, Ever Ready. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 189 

Squash. — Extra Early Bush, Golden Summer. 

Tomato.— Yixtra. Early Richmond, Acme, T.T.T. 

Turnip. — Early Dutch, Amber Globe, Bloomsdale Swede. 

1035. Q. Are the original wild types of our cultivated plants generally Original 

to be found ? Types. 

A. Very few of them. The wild cabbage, celery and beet are met with 
in Europe, the potato and tomato in South America, and a few others 
elsewhere representative of our garden plants, but very few. Still less of 
the cultivated products of the field, as there is no wild rye, wheat, oats or 
barley, nor Indian corn in its original condition. Of the origin of plants 
in general hardly anything is known, and very little to be surmised. 
This much is known, however, strange to relate, that the United States 
has furnished comparatively nothing of value among cultivated plants of 
vegetables or cereals, the principal nutritious plants being the Jerusalem 
artichoke and the gourds, both of little value, and among the cereals the 
"Wild Rice. The United States is not an exception in this particular, for 
not a useful original plant has ever been obtained in Australia, or New 
Zealand, or the Cape of Good Hope, nor from South America, south of the 
Platte. These countries produce plants useful to savage man, but they 
have never been improved by selection, as have the plants of Europe, 
Asia, Mexico, Central America, Chili and Peru, plants probably no better 
originally, but a clear demonstration that it was only among the higher 
civilized people of early times that improvement by selection took place. 

1026. Q. As in a late letter you urged me to adopt market gardening tettnce. 
under glass, let me ask you to what special crop would you advise me to 

give special attention ? 

A. To lettuce. It is in demand for fifty-two weeks in the year, and 
always, when in fresh condition, will bring a good price. In Philadel- 
phia, during the months of December, January, February and March, 
good lettuce is sold by the commission men to the city storekeepers at from 
$5 to $10 per hundred heads. It is generally highest in January and Feb- 
ruary, and assuming that its average price then is $7 per 100 and the 
freights and commission $3, it leaves $5 to the producer. When lettuce is 
well grown sixty to seventy-five heads will fill a barrel. In growing let- 
tuce it is important to get seed true to name and of strong vitality, and of 
habits of uniform development, that sections of the forcing house may be 
entirely cleared of crop, that the space may be promptly recropped with 
a fresh setting of lettuce or radish. Two good sorts for forcing are the 
Virginia Solid Header and Forcing, the latter the New York experimen- 
tal Station has pronounced of high merit for under-glass culture. 

1027. Q. Is ensilage a good food for horses ? Ensilage 
A. No ; it is likely to produce colic, and weaken them generally. The 

digestive organs of horses are different from those of cattle, which are cud- 
chewing animals. Indeed, ensilage for cattle is not always the best food, 
as it sometimes has the same effect as brew-houso swill, causing cows, 
especially when fed too long upon it, and too exclusively, to become 
unhealthy, to grow languid and to lose their hair. 



190 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Vegetable 

Forcing 

Uou8es. 



Potato. 



Depression 
in 

Market 
Gardening. 



1028. Q. What are tlie general dimensions of the vegetable forcing 
houses operated by market gardeners growing truck for Winter sales? 

A. The writer knows of houses 240 x 30 feet ; 250 x 40 feet ; 400 x 40 
feet ; 1600 x 20 feet. And possibly there are yet more extended areas of 
glass entirely devoted to growing vegetables for Winter sale, as lettuce, 
radish, cucumber, tomato, watercress. 

1029. Q. Is not the potato one of the most healthful foods? 

A. No ; it might more properly be classed, as ordinarily served on 
the table, as an unhealthful food. The reason is that the potato is com- 
posed to a large extent of starch, which to become nutritious has to 
undergo a sugary change by the action of the stomach juices, and tliis 
change is particularly slow in the case of the potato, as it is a dense food 
slowly acted upon by the digestive fluids, and consequently it remains for 
a longer period in the stomach than rice or any other starchy food. This 
retention in the stomach results in the partial decomposition of the starch, 
the evolving of gases and formation of combinations which distend 
and irritate the stomach and intestines, producing in some persons 
dyspepsia and diarrhoea. Strong constitutions apparently resist the 
slightest injurious influences from this cause, but nevertheless their diges- 
tive organs are at the same time taxed to a greater extent than if the food 
was rice, which, by the way, is not a quickly digested food. Potatoes as a 
food are most objectionable when fried, most wholesome when baked. 

1030. Q. What is the cause of the depression in market gardening? 

A. Overproduction, and consequently overcompetition and lowering 
of profits, the same cause as produces agricultural depression. Any 
thoughtful market gardener clearly realizes the cause to be the opening of 
the many and new truck-growinff sections, almost limitless, in the South 
Atlantic and Gulf States, in the Middle Cotton States, and throughout the 
entire Mississippi valley, all these throwing at all seasons into all the 
markets of the country, especially the Northern cities, such an avalanche 
of fruit and vegetables as to have almost completely obliterated the 
profits of the Northern market gardener, and as well most seriously cut 
down the receipts of the Southern truck farmer, the prevailing agricultural 
depression having turned to market gardening tens of thousands of regular 
farmers. 

It might in this connection be asked. What has caused the agricultural 
depression ? and the reply is. The same overproduction ; the result of 
several causes. One, the opening up in our far-Western country of millions 
of acres of new lands to foreigners to grow competing crops of wheat, 
corn and potatoes, which they do at comparatively little expense. 
Another cause, the development of field machinery, bj"^ w'hich ten men do 
the work of one hundred in the past, consequently every proprietor is 
able to seed and harvest ten times the number of acres. Another, the 
development of railroad transportation, by which the product of most dis- 
tant parts is brought to the seaboard to compete with that grown upon 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 191 

land in the old States held at $100 per acre as compared with $5 land in the 
far "West. 

But an influence greater than the three enumerated is the scaling down 
of American values of wheat, and by sympathy corn also, to the grain 
prices of London, in which market are fixed the grain values of the world, 
dependent on the crops of Russia, India, Egypt, New Zealand, Australia 
and South America. It is these crops which fix the value of our crops in 
America, for if the price in London is low, and it generally is low, the 
grain can be sent from Europe to the United States at a cost of six cents 
a bushel, and yet cheaper if sent from point of production. 

1031. Q. What will be the result of the agricultural depression? Agrricniturai 

A. In our late letter to you we very briefly treated upon the cause of '*®P^*'*****"*" 
the agricultural depression. The result is a problem which only time 
can solve. But certain results are very apparent, notably the frequent 
sberifi" sales and the abandonment of thousands of farms in all of the old 
Eastern States, lands once high-priced, and yet, though depreciated, too 
expensive to cultivate. Much has been written about the abandoned 
farms of New England, but the same condition exists in the JViiddle 
Eastern States. 

In New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania can be seen thousands of 
abandoned farms with broken-down barns and fences, tenantless home- 
steads with weedy front-yards. The selling value of these farm lands is 
only one-third what it was under the bettertimes of twenty to thirty years 
ago. And though rents may now be based upon the reduced value, they 
cannot be paid out of the farm profits of ordinary agriculture, if the 
farmer is of the condition of a proprietor and has to pay wages. 

It seems manifest destiny that the day for big farms in the old States is 
about over, and that grain, grass and dairy lands will be divided into 
tracts of thirty to forty acres, and worked by small owners or renters, a 
less intelligent, less progressive class, men who cannot aiford to, or who 
will not purchase improved machinery, or be in anyway helpful in aiding 
advanced agriculture. Each holder ot this class, by the aid of his wife, 
sons and daughters, doing all the work, no cash going out to employes, 
people satisfied to eat what they cannot sell ; such people will lay by 
money, but they do nothing to aid in the development of the science or 
practice of agriculture. This is not a very cheerful prognostication, but it 
may come true. 

These remarks apply to ordinary farming, not market gardening, under 

which more intensive system of culture forty acres is frequently enough, 

as forty acres in truck requires the labor of five or six men and as much 

outlay in manure, live stock and implements, ability and eflTort as five 

times that average in crops of grain, potatoes and grass. 

1033. Q. What is a practical proof of the activity of bacteria in the „ 

., „ Bacteria. 

soil? 

A. It has been proven by the Rothamstead Experimental Station that 
nodules growing on the roots of leguminous plants, as peas or clover, 



192 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



assimilate nitrogen both from the soil and by fixation, and the evidence 
of fixation of nitrogen has been proven by Dr. Gilbert in his experiments 
■with leguminous plants grown on land made free from nitrogen, but sub- 
sequently inoculated with bacteria soil, the nitrogen obtained being only 
from the air and through the active agency of the bacteria. 

jjjj.,, 1033. Q. Which of all the counties in the [Jnited States is the leading 

Agricultural one in agricultural produce ? 

Counties. ^ Lancaster, Pa It is thirty-three miles long by twenty-eight wide, 

and comprises 928 square miles. Part of it has been cultivated since 
1709, and yet it has not a single acre of worn-out land. It contains 
9070 farms, valued at sixty-nine million dollars, and produced last year 
farm produce of the value of nine million dollars, or fifty per cent, 
greater than any other county in the United States. A leading produc- 
tion for years has been tobacco, of which in 1889 the value was one and 
one-third million dollars. Lancaster county contains 335 grist mills, and 
last year wintered forty thousand stall-fed cattle. The other counties 
in the United States producing the highest value of agricultural products 
is St. Lawrence, N. Y., producing six millions of dollars, but its area is 
three times as large as Lancaster. The third productive county is 
Chester, Pa., one quarter smaller than Lancaster, producing nearly six 
millions of dollars. The fourth county in production is Bucks, Pa. , one- 
third smaller than Lancaster, producing five and one-half millions of 
dollars last year. It is in Bucks county where is situated Bloomsdale 
Farm. 

Corn Crops. 1034. Q. Maryland is not far behind, for I have just measured up my 
corn crop of 1479 shelled bushels grown on seventeen acres. Is that 
quantity of eighty-seven bushels to the acre often exceeded? 

A. Not often exceeded in general cropping, for eighty -seven bushels is 
a most admirable product, but it is not as much as often grown in the 
crack counties of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Lancaster, Chester and Bucks, 
where there are many records of over 100 bushels, and as high as 127, 
which was certified to by the Brandyne Club in 1874. In 1893, a Penn- 
sylvania farmer exhibited at the Chicago Exhibition a lot of corn, part of 
the product from a twelve-acre field which gave 1320 bushels, or 110 
bushels to the acre. 

Ensilage. 1035. Q. What is meant by ensilage? 

A. The principle involved is the preservation of green forage in cellars 
or pits through the exclusion of air, the green stuff being put in so tightly 
as to drive out very nearly all the air, and the material kept so com- 
pressed as to continue to keep out very nearly all air. Some will remain, 
but this, after a time, is changed by fermentation to carbonic acid gas, 
filling all interstices, excluding other air and holding the green forage in 
a bath of gas, in which condition all decomposition is arrested. The 
forage changes its color in the pits, and a vinegary odor becomes very 
perceptible, the material becoming more digestible than it was in its 
green coildition. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 193 

It is the cheapest, most economical and satisfactory way of feeding 
milking cows, not used exclusively, but in connection with a proportion 
of cake meal, and with a proportion of dry hay or fodder. Cows thus 
fed thrive well and milk freely, giving sweet milk, making good butter. 
For this reason it is every day growing in favor, especially as it is so 
palatable and easily digestible. The ensilage of the present day is made 
from well-grown, well-matured, well-eared corn — of course taken in 
green condition, chopped into pieces of about one and one-half inches in 
length. White Sheep Tooth corn is the best for the purpose, being very 
abundant in the production of foliage. 

1036. Q. What is the object or work of the Agricultural Stations ? Agricultural 
A, By their investigations they protect the farmer against sales of^******"** 

fraudulent fertilizers and cattle foods. They study cattle diseases and 
advise preventive measures ; they investigate the habits of insects 
injurious to agriculture and designate methods of destroying them ; they 
study the character of fungous growths ; they inquire into methods of irriga- 
tion and into meteorological and climatic fluctuations and results ; they 
report on qualities of soils, qualities of new cereals, forage plants, vege- 
tables, fibres and fruits, action of fertilizers, plant nutrition and com- 
ponent parts of soil drainage. They do entirely too much to enumerate 
in a short description of their work, which is an extensive line of research 
in the laboratory and hothouse, in the stable and dairy, in the orchard, 
forest and field. They do so much original work and collect so much of 
the results of work of other stations as to be important bureaus of agricul- 
tural information. Every State has one agricultural station ; Connecticuti 
New York, Alabama and Louisiana, each two. In the aggregate they 
employ nearly 600 persons, and in 1894 issued over four and one-half 
million reports and bulletins. The first American agricultural station 
was established in 1875 in Connecticut, but this was thirty years after the 
establishment of the first German agricultural station, which was at Moec- 
kern. One of the most interesting of the many advanced agricultural 
stations in Europe is that of Darmstadt, largely devoted to pot investiga- 
tions, into plant nutrition and soil exhaustion. 

1037. Q. In what way did mankind find out what plants were edible? Edible 
A. Such explorers as Livingstone, Hooker, DeCandolle and others, all Plants. 

found that uncivilized man in all countries knows a long catalogue of 
plants, more or less nutritious, others injurious, others destructive to 
life. In Africa the natives in the wilder regions are guided to a great 
extent by what the baboons and monkeys eat. All wild tribes through 
pressure of necessity have learned a great deal as to the efl'ects, stimu- 
lating, nutritious and medicinal, of many of their native plants, and a 
consequential step is the removal of these plants, or the planting of 
their seeds by the natives near to their huts, and thus the first steps are 
taken in the line of selection, to be further continued by subsequent 
selections of the best types, till after a time a heredity of form, color, 
size and flavor, is well established. 



194 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



to 
Climate. 



Corn. 



riant 1038. Q. Do plants of -warm latitudes adapt themselves to cold 

AdaptablUty climates ? 

A. As a rule only so far as to quicken growth, or shorten the period 
of life. Corn, for instance, grown near the limit of its Northern 
localities of production, no doubt was originally selected from Southern 
stocks of a marked early habit. Fixed types of plants grown far North 
do not acquire strength to withstand cold, simply a habit of quicklj"" 
maturing to escape cold. Many cross-bred plants, like some tobaccos, 
for example, possess a precocity fitting them for Northern climates 
better than the parents. Many natural conditions of plants can be 
changed by climate ; for example, the plants of North America bloom- 
ing and fruiting in their own appointed seasons change their habits 
when taken to South America and Australia, where the seasons are 
reversed. 

1039. Q. Why is it that corn grown in the cotton States when brought 
as far North as Pennsylvania will not ripen? 

A. The planting of corn ripened under a Southern climate, in locali- 
ties far North of its latitude of production, seems to completely upset 
its natural habit, a common occurrence in vegetable life, as such corn 
runs almost entirely to foliage, the function of leaf and stem develop- 
ment being so stimulated as to completely displace the function of seed 
production. The cause of this it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to 
answer to the satisfaction of every one. It may be due to several 
causes in combination, sometimes partially influenced by richer soil, 
more generally to increased moisture, or more even distribution of rain 
during the last half of the season of growth, a better conservation of 
water, for in Southern localities the evaporation is greater, and transi- 
tions of soil moisture conditions more marked. 

A Southern corn under any circumstances takes a greater number of 
days of growth to arrive at maturity, and when planted in the North 
simultaneously with Northern corn continues vigorous longer than the 
Northern sort, so much so as to be in a position to profit by August and 
September rains which come too late to extend the growth of the 
quicker maturing Northern varieties. Thus the formation of leaf 
tissue in the case of Southern corn is still further continued till finallj' 
the plant, j'ct in vigorous growth, enters the moister seasons of the 
Autumn when nothing will arrest the growth but frost. 

1040. Q. AVhat kind of crops, if any, did the early Indians cultivate? 
A. Campanius, a Swede, who explored the valley of the Delaware in 

1642, wrote that among the Indians he found cultivations of hops, grape- 
vines, plum trees, maize, calabash and a fibre like hemp. 

1041. Q. "What are some of the earliest references to the growth of 
corn in Pennsylvania ? 

A. In 1C54, Peter Lindstrom, a Swedish engineer, surveyed the Dela- 
ware river, and wrote that he met with extensive cultivations, by the 
Indians, of corn ; the grain being of various colors, while, black, red, blue. 



Crops in 
1643. 



Com In 
1664. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 195 

brown, yellow and pied. That the yellow sorts were used for making 
bread, but that the blue, brown, black and pied were used in brewing and 
made a strong, dark-colored beer. 
1043. Q. Will the flowers of tomato plants and potato plants mix? Hybridiza- 

A. Yes, they will polleuize in cases where the plants be grown under ***" ** ^^ 
glass and very practical efforts be made to effect cross-pollination, the potato. 
tomato crossing with the potato and the potato with the tomato, but so 
far nothing of any value has been obtained by such hybridization. The 
living plants can also be grafted upon each other ; for instance, a potato 
plant can be cut down to within an inch or two of the root and a tomato 
stem grafted upon it, the above-ground plant being a tomato and produc- 
ing fine fruit, and the below-ground plant being a potato, producing 
potato tubers ; or to the contrary, a tomato plant can be cut down to 
within an incli or two of the soil and a potato stem grafted upon it. Of 
course the tomato root will not produce potatoes, but it will sustain the 
potato top above ground which will produce potato flowers, seed bulbs 
and sometimes abnormally developed small potatoes at the axles of the 
stems. These experiments are only of value and interesting in a physio- 
logical sense, nothing practical or of value can be expected from them. 



D. Landreth & Sons will at all times be 

PLEASED TO RECEIVE QuERIES UPON AGRICULTURAL 

AND Horticultural subjects, and invite such 

CORRESPONDENCE. 



INDEX. 



A. 

PAGE. 

Actinism 33 

Adaptability of Plants 194 

Adulteration of Seeds 136 

Advertising of Seeds 145 

Advice, Agricultural 170 

Adventurous Plants 161 

Agriculture, 34, W, 66, 74, 89, 90, 99, 113, 122, 

192 

Agricultiiral Societies 54 

Agricultural Stations. ... 90, 176, 187, 193 

Air in Soil 180 

Air Plants 100, 105 

Alfalfa 22, 52 

Alluvial Soils 30 

American Seeds 160 

Analysis, Vegetable 64 

Anthracnose 125 

Artificial Heat 25, 27, 104 

Artichoke, French 42. 103 

Arsenic 78 

Ashes 30, 130, 175 

Asparagus 41, 46, 79, 86, 102, 170 

Asphyxiation of Insects 116 

Autumn Leaves 34 

B. 

Bacteria 45, 191 

Barley 38 

Barnyard Manure 32, 127, 138, 175 

Beans, 14, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 72, 

74, 81, 88, 96, 97, 109, 110, 114, 115, 121, 125, 

142, 161 

Beets . . 15, 61, 75, 87, 106, 170, 172, 182, 185 

Beet Sugar 15, 61 

Beneficial Insects 177 

Bermuda Grass 49, 58, 86 

Bermuda Onions 43 

Berries 29 

Bisulphide 71, 147 

Bleaching Celery 181 

Blight 77 

Bloomsdale Pea 119 

Blue Grass 22, 49, 59, 86, 129. 174 

Bones 83, 173 

Bordeaux Mixture 46, 81, 120 

Botany 90 

Breathing Pores 80, 182 

Broccoli 2, 72 



PAGE. 

Buckwheat 38 

Bulbs 2, 80 

Butter Beans 59 

C. 

Cauliflower 39, 70, 87, 88, 122, 127 

Cantaloupes, 7, 8, 86, 99, 109, 110, 117, 122, 

126, 127, 128, 129, 143 

Cabbage, 11, 12, 13, 33, 47, 53, 65, 75, 77, 81, 

84, 88, 90, 93, 94, 96, 106, 110, 113, 116, 118, 

123, 124, 128, 130, ICO, 175, 183, 184 

Canada Blue Grass 22 

Carbon 31 

Carrot 5^4, 137 

Canning Vegetables 61, 62 

Capital 64 

Calico Bug 95 

Cane 103, 162 

Cauaigre 169 

Carolina Rock 171 

Carnivorous Insects 177 

Carnivorous Plants 69 

Cattle Food 164 

Celery. . . .18,71,72,98,105,125,176,181 

Chemical Action 30 

Charleston Rock 31, 171 

Chickory 71, 112 

Cheat or Chess 76 

Club Root 12, 58, 81, 182 

Clouds 29 

Clover, Scarlet 23, 77 

Climbers 14, 48, 142 

Cloche 76 

Clover .... 23, 52, 76, 77, 108, 124, 135, 138 

Climate 131, 136, 193, 194 

Cow Feed 108, 192 

Cow Peas 2, 58, 67, 76 

Cows 172, 192 

Com, 16, 17, 38, 46, 63, 64, 89, 92, 93, 97, 101, 
104, 109, 115, 118, 123, 139, 140, 141, 163, 
168, 170, 175, 177, 182, 183, 184, 192, 193, 194, 

195 

Commercial Fertilizers, 31, 82, 44, 77, 83, 87, 

89, 108, 137, 173, 179 

Collards 47 

Cotton Oil 160 

Conch Grass 49, 52, 112, 174 

Colors 54, 70, 75, 98, 121 



(196) 



INDEX. 



197 



Farms 35, 151, 159 

Farmyard 32, 127, 138, 173, 175 

Farm Division 35 

Farm Labor 35 



PAGE. 

Cotton 5g 

Cos Lettuce * 75 

Cold Frames 100 103 

Coffee '.*.'. 71,'ll2 

Cockle iQQ 

Cooking Receipts '.'.'. I5i 

Corn Consumption 38 

Covering Seeds '.'.'... 50 

Crab Grass 49, 52 112 174 

C'o^^s '. .'.45,' 121 

Cross Bred. 31 102 

Cryptogams _' 105 

Cucumber, 5, 6, 53, 60, 61, 81, 89, :03,"l09,"ll0, 
124, 126, 139, 175 

Culinary Vegetables 2, 154 

Cutworm '_ 77 

Cultivation ng ^21 124 



Darmstadt Experimental Station. . . .176 

Darnell j49 

Dates 54, 8li 194 

Dew 29 

Degeneracy 76^ 103 

Discovery in Agriculture 122 

Destruction of Insects 82 

Division of Farms 35 

Disease -g 

Dissemination of Weeds 169 176 

Discrimination by Plants 104 

Dodder 24 

Drainage 27 37 

Drought 70,72,105,124 

Dry Soils 7g 

Drilling Seeds 90, 120, 127 

E. 

Edible Plants I93 

Egg Plant . 40, 74, 92, 95, 114, 153, 162, 171 

Elements 32 

Electric Light Ill, ng 

Emulsion 82 84 

Ensilage 173, 189,'l92 

Ergot 98 

Errors in Seeds 85 

Essential Fertilizers 64 

European Vegetables 103 

Exports, Agricultural 37, 38 

Experimental Stations . . .53, 152, 176, 192 

Exhaustive Crops 80,105,134 

Exhalation 80 182 



Fertilizer for Lawns . 



PAGE. 

fertility , ; *.^,'i;2,'lS 

Fertilizers . . 47, 58, 64, 98, 103, 119, 137 165 

Fences ' _g 

Fish Manure . .' * ' 47 

^^^^'^ 25, 37,53, 97, 194 

Firming the SoU 27 72 94 

Fish Culture .' . . ' '93 

Florida Rock '.'.*" 31 171 

Flax .'.*.'...' 37 

Fluctuation in Prices .' * ' ' 39 

Elowers *. '. 73,' 12oi 134 

Flavor g^ 

Foliage ' .' 24 34 

Forcing Seeds " .' 25,'l37i 144, 'l70 

Forcing Houses 102, 118 190 

^0°*^ .... 09, 82, 83 

1, 29, 37, 65, 105 
^ , ... .28, 29, 34 

Freshness Retained 135 

Fumigation ! ! ' * 118 

Fungicides 45, 53. si'm, 125 

Fungi, 12, 28. 46, 48, 49, 57, 58, 70, 73 77 78 

81, 87, 92, 98, 99, 101, 105, 106, 113, 114, 'll9,' 

122, 128, 165, 182 

G. 

Gardening, 17, 19, 30, 54, 57, 60, 65, 66, 80, 
84, 102, 133, 144, 148,' 181 

Garden, Plan of i. 

Garlic .....'.' 

Germination, 33, 44, 48, 58, 69, 80, 85^ 

103, 138, 142, 'lS3,' 183 

Germs, Fungous iqS 

Glasshouse 102, I12, lis] 190 

Glucose 

Gourds 



Fruit. 
Frost . 



140 



34 

^ . 3, 194 

•^'■'^"S 2, 24, 100 

^"■apes 100, 101 

Grass, 21, 22, 23, 47, 49, 50, 52, 58, 59, 78, 97, 

112,129,168,174,180 

Greenhouse Cucumber g 

Green Manures ... 10, 45, 58, 111, 122," 167 

Gro\vth 9;^^ 114' igo 

Grubs 78, 79, 87. 118, 177 

Guano, Peruvian 32 77 89 

Gypsum os 



Hammond's Thrip Juice 28 

Harlequin Bug 7^ 

Hay 22, 23, 38, 146. 1G5 

Heat, Artificial 27 33 112 

Hellebore 28 

Herbs '.'.'.'... 50 

Herd Grass 22 23 



198 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Heredity 60, 103, 116, 151 

Horse-radish 18, 146 

Horticultural Society 5-4 

Hotbeds 25, 27, 100, 103, 104 

Humus 131 

Humidity 97, 100, 123 

Hybridization ... 3, 89, 100, 102, 123, 195 
Hydrogen 31 

I. 

Implements M, 162, 192 

Importations 37, 52, 185 

Influence of Parents . 60, 103 

Inhalation 80, 182 

Inoculation of Soils 45, 68 

Inorganic Parts 31 

Insecticides, 28, U, 46, 53, 70, 71, 73, 82, 128, 

147 

Insectivorous Bugs 115, 177 

Insects, 9, 13, 46, 57, 60, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 76, 

77, 78, 79, 82, 84, 91, 95, 96, 100, 101, 106, 

113, 116, 118, 119, 123, 124, 133, 139, 177 

Introduction of the Tomato 115 

Ivy 103 

J. 

Japan Clover 52 

Johnson Grass 49 

K. 

Kainit 108 

Kerosene 82, 84 

King Crabs 103 

Kohl Rabi 40 

Labor on Farm 35 

Lauds 68 

Land Sales 37 

Land Values , . . , 34 

Larvaj 82 

Latitude 136, 194 

Lawn 19, 21, 23, 111, 121, 159 

Leaf Rakings 93 

Leek 140 

Legumes 2, 23, 58, 67 

Lettuce, 41, 54, 94, 110, 119, 123, 126, 128, 129, 

188, 189 

Lice 81, 113, 116, 118 

Licorice 104 

Light 33 

Lima Beans 14, 47, 57 

Lime ....... 28, 30, 31, 33, 46, 83, 172 

Linseed Oil 160 

Liquid Manure 33 

Live Stock 39, 172, 192 

Loam 30 



PAGE. 

Lobos Guano 77 

Locust 68, 168 

London Purple 28 

Low Prices 35 

M. 

Machine Development 34, 162, 192 

Maggot 91 

Mangel Wurzel 15, 182 

Manure, 15, 30, 31, 32, 33, 44, 47, 51, 53, 56, 
58, 69, 77, 80, 83, 87, 88, 89, 101, 103, 108, 
110, 111, 127, 133, 139, 141, 164, 173, 175, 178, 

179 
Market Garden, 18, 19, 60, 65, 66, 69, 185, 190 

Marl 107 

Maturity of Fruits 105 

Maturity of Peas 150 

Maturity of Vegetables 183 

Measuring Land 174 

Melon, 9, 48, 49, 56, 73, 82, 87, 113, 118, 159, 

161 

Mildew 48,87 

Millet 91 

Mining Flies 133 

Mint 187 

Moisture 97, 100, 123 

Molasses 187 

Mold 28, 48, 78, 81, 119, 165 

Moles 135 

Moon 33, 57, 98, 103 

Moss . . 101 

Mule Plants 102 

Mushroom 43, 114 

Mustard 92 

N. 

Nitrate of Soda 53, 75, 113 

Nitrogen . , 31, 50, 69, 83, 13S, 166, 171, 178 

Nitrogenous Manures 170 

Nomenclature 51, 74 

Nutmeg Melons 7 

Nutrition 69, 176 

Nuts 

O. 

Oats 73, 108 

Oats, Hay 47 

Oats, Product 33 

Offsets 2 

Oils, Vegetable 133, 160 

Okra 114, 180 

Old Seeds 44, 87 

Onions, 43, 55, 73, 84, 86, 89, 90, 91, 91, 99, 
105, 106, 127, 130, 131, 132, 139, 140, 160, 168, 

184 

Onion Sets 43, 46, 71, 75 

Orchid Grass 22 



INDEX. 



199 



PAGE. 

Organic Constituents 31 

Original Types 189 

Origin of Plants 47, 189 

Over-manuring 51 

Oxygen 31 



P. 



Parasites 100, 105 

Parental Influence 103, 151 

Paris Green 28, 34, 56, 70, 73, 78, 82 

Parsnip 117 

Pasturage Grass 21, 59 

Pea Bug 68, 70 

Peach, Yellow 52 

Peanuts 170 

Pearl Sets 94 

Peas, 3, 13, 14, 15, 45, 58, 61, 73, 76, 78, 87, 99, 
104, 107, 108, 119, 124, 129, 142, 149, 150 

Peas, Cow 2, 58, 67, 76 

Peat 30, 128, 131 

Pedigree Seeds 151 

Peppers lai 

Perennial Beans 57 

Periods 54,85,88,181 

Permanent Pasture 21 

Persian Insect Powder 28 

Perspiration 103 

Peruvian Guano 32, 77, 89 

Phonogrraph Pea 124 

Phosphate 31, 32, 83, 87, 179 

Phosphoric Acid 129, 130, 171 

Phylloxera 100, 101 

Pickles 60, 61 

Pigs IW 

Plant Adaptahility 194 

Plant Constituents 31 

PlantFood 69,176 

Plant Origin 47 

Plants to Acre 133 

Plow 36,79,121,174 

Poison 78, 105, 183 

Poisoned Soils 165 

Pole Beans 56 

Pollen 3, 80, 117, 136, 137, 143, 179 

Potash 31, 50, 83, 87 

Potatoes, 4, 38, 48, 52, 62, 79, 81, 88, 102, 104, 
108, 121, 123, 129, 132, 140, 175, 179, 185, 186. 

195 

Potato Seed 4 

Prescription Grass 60 

Preservation of Seed 113 

Profits 67, 69 

Puddling 110 

Pulverizing Soil 174 

Pumpkin . 51, 186 

Pungent Vegetables Ill 



Q. PAGE. 

Quarantining Plants 69 

R. 

Radiation 29 

Radish 10, 71, 74, 88, 89, 107, 116, 122, 143 

Railroads 34 

Ramie 25 

Rape 137 

Receipts, Cooking 154 

Recuperation Ill 

Red Top Grass 22 

Resin 77 

Resistant Grasses 168 

Restorative Crops 178 

Rhode Island Bent Grass 22 

Rhubarb 72 

Roads 128 

Rolling 175 

Roots 18, 134, 161, 172, 173 

Rotation 30, 166, 182 

Runners 14, 142 

Rust 14, 70, 81 

Ruta Baga 86, 172 

Rye 38, 78, 130 

S. 
Sap 27 

Sales of Land 37 

Salads .39 

Salt 46, 5i, 171 

Sand Grass 47 

Salting Cucumbers 60 

Sand 70, 101 

Savoy 75, 171 

Scarlet Clover . , 23 

Scientific Agriculture ... 90, 176, 187, 193 

Seeds, Forcing 25 

Sex 53, 60, 91, 103, 151, 180 

Seeding 54, 90, 120, 127, 181 

Seasons 54, 57, 85, 88 

SeUing 105 

Seeds, 54, 80, 84, 107, 113, 123, 132, 135, 137, 
143, 144, 146, 149, 151, 152, 159, 160, 162, 181 

Selection 116 

Sensation 121 

Seed Control 180 

Shipments of Fruit 29 

Shamrock 135 

Shallots 140, 168 

Sick Soils 165, 167 

Silos 173,189,192 

Slugshot 28 

Smut 73, 98, 99, 101 

Snow 29 

Sou, 30, 45, 58, 68, 78, 105, 111, 112, 134, 

142, 167, 174, 177, 180 

Soda 31, 75 



200 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Soluble Phosphate 32 

Soil luofulatiou 45,68 

Soda Nitrate 53, 75, 113 

Sorghum 104, 109, 175 

Soiling 126 

Sorrel 127 

Sowiug Seeds 144 

Spinach 10, 15, 53, 75, 110, 171 

Sports 50, 60, 122, 189 

Spraying 53, 81, 125 

Squash . .51,54,68,81,82,123,124,186 

Storage Corn 17 

Stable Manure 30, 141 

Steam Plowing 36 

Stations, Experimental . . 90, 176, 187, 193, 

Starch 80, 176 

String Beans 57 

Sugar Beets 15, 61 

Sulphuric Acid 32 

Sun 33, 102, 105 

Subsoiling 35 

Superstitions. ... 29, 33, 37, 57, 76, 98, 103 

Sugar 34, 37, 111, 162, 170, 172, 187 

Sunhouses 102 

Sunburn 106, 130 

Sugar Cane 108, 114, 162 

Sunflower 113 

Sweet Potatoes 4, 62, 179 

Sweet Peas 73 

Swedes 126, 164 

T. 

Tariff 167 

Tassel of Corn 141 

Texas Blue Grass 49 

Tennis Court 128 

Testing Seeds . . 44, 56, 133, 137, 152, 1C3, 184 

Thinning 85 

Tillage 63 

Tobacco 38, 55, 92, 160 

Toads 48 

Top Onions ... 56, 71, 86 

Tobacco Soils 55 

Tomatoes, 10, 50, 51, 54, 62, 77, 95, 102, 107, 

108, 109, 115, 119, 130, 170, 195 

Trlfolium Incarnatum . . .... 23 

Transplanting 76, 100, 110, 144 



PAGE. 

Trees 152 

Trial Grounds 53, 152, 192 

Tubers 2. 80 

Turnip, 17, 56, 72, 79, 81, 99, 107, 110, 126, 
127, 135, 145, 164, 172, 178, 185 

Types 60, 189 

Types, Original 189 

U. 

Unripe Seeds 73, 78 

Unvitol Seed 85, 117 

V. 

Values of Turnips 186 

Variability 50, 60, 163, 189 

Vegetable Analysis 64 

Vegetables. . . 1, 2, 62, 65, 103, 119, 123, 188 

Vegetable Garden 17, 19, 188 

Vegetable Mold . . 28, 48, 78, 81, 119, 165 

Vegetable Products 31 

Vegetable Oils 133 

Vegetation 33 

Vitality, 17, 44, 56, 69, 73, 80, 93, 133, 137, 162, 

16.'!, 184 
Vine Seeds 159 

W. 

Watermelon, 7, 9, 53, 89, 99, 110, 126, 129, 
138, 139, 147 

Water 29, 104 

Wax Beans 46 

Warranted Seeds 162 

Washed Lands 68 

Wash, Resin 77 

Water Cress 143 

Weevil 13,70,71,96 

Weeds, 15, 23, 48, 91, 96, 110, 111, 124, 128, 
109, 176, 177 

Web Worm 106, 139 

Weights 135,181 

Wheat 2, 3, 38, 48, 86, 97, 132, 166 

White Grub 79 

Wild Potatoes 4 

Wintering Roots 18 

Wood Ashes 30, 130, 175 

Worms 51, 88, 106, 183 

Wire Grass 49, 52,112, 174 



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